Mr Suleman Chawla, Acting President FPCCI, has welcomed the opening and operationalisation of UAE’s biggest visa centre in Asia in their Karachi Consulate; and termed it a milestone in fostering the people-to-people (P2P) and business-to-business (B2B) relations between the two brotherly countries.

Mr Suleman Chawla maintained that this singular step would go a long way to encourage Pakistani business people, entrepreneurs, investors, exporters, tourists and students to opt for various states of the UAE as their preferred destination for business and tourism.

Mr Suleman Chawla, SVP FPCCI, added that Pakistan, as per the latest census, is a country of 249.56 million. Karachi is its business, industrial, shipping, commercial and financial hub – and FPCCI appreciates H. E. Bakheet Ateeq AlRemeithi, Consul General of UAE in Karachi, for his visionary, proactive and facilitative role for the business community of Pakistan in general and Karachi in particular.

Mr Shabbir Mansha, VP of FPCCI, highlighted that UAE is a very important destination for exporting Pakistani skilled and semi-skilled workforce; and one of the top contributors of workers’ remittances for Pakistan. Therefore, UAE is a very important friendly country for Pakistan to maintain foreign exchange reserves, employment opportunities, strategic environment and help Pakistan avoid the balance of payments crisis by warding off default on its external liabilities.

H. E. Bakheet Ateeq AlRemeithi informed the FPCCI delegation that business people to start getting UAE visas within one working day with minimum required documentation, and he is, in his personal & official capacities, is committed to enhancing B2B relations; chamber-to-chamber linkages; trade promotion activities; joint ventures; industrial collaborations and travel & tourism between the two countries.

H. E. Bakheet Ateeq AlRemeithi also invited the business community of Karachi to approach him directly in case of any issues, complaints and delays. He also termed the new facility customer-business-friendly with no hidden charges!