UAE leader meets Pakistani army head

Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the de facto leader of  the United Arab Emirates, met a Pakistani military leader Thursday. 

Nahyan, who is crown prince of Abu Dhabi and commander in chief of the UAE’s armed forces, received the chief of staff of the Pakistani army, General Qamar Javed Bajwa. The two discussed increasing defense-related cooperation between the UAE and Pakistan, as well as unspecified regional issues, the official Emirates News Agency reported. 

The UAE’s relationship with Pakistan is an important one. There is a large Pakistani expatriate community in the Emirates. The UAE also hosted a Pakistani cricket tournament earlier this year. 

UAE officials have also discussed the situation in Pakistan’s neighbor Afghanistan with their Pakistani counterparts recently. The UAE helped evacuate foreigners from Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover, and has called for calm and sent humanitarian aid there. Earlier this month, Pakistani diplomats told Al-Monitor that they do not view the UAE as a major player in Afghanistan.