UAE’s EEP boosts Pakistan ties on governance, fiscal reforms

July 10, 2025 (MLN): The UAE Government’s Experience Exchange Programme (EEP) is emerging as a key platform for driving governance modernization and institutional capacity building across partner countries, with Pakistan the latest to deepen engagement under the initiative.

A high-level Pakistani delegation led by Bilal Azhar Kayani, Minister of State for Finance and Railways and Head of the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit, visited the UAE this week to participate in the EEP. Meetings centered on fiscal management, budgeting, tax policy, and public sector digitalisation, showing Pakistan’s aim to draw lessons from the UAE’s administrative and technology-led reforms.

Kayani held detailed talks with UAE Minister of State for Financial Affairs Mohamed bin Hadi Al Hussaini, emphasizing the value of structured knowledge sharing to tackle shared economic and governance challenges.

The visit builds on a memorandum of understanding signed last month between Pakistan’s Ministry of Planning and the UAE Ministry of Cabinet Affairs, formalizing collaboration under the EEP.

The two sides engaged in focused discussions on key aspects of fiscal management, including budgeting practices, public finance oversight, and tax policy reforms.

Both ministers shared insights from their respective national experiences, identifying common challenges and opportunities to strengthen institutional capacity and improve governance frameworks.

Minister Kayani also outlined Pakistan’s reform agenda to modernize public sector finance and emphasized the importance of learning from the UAE’s digitalisation model. He highlighted Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif’s reform agenda focused on e-commerce, digitization, and sustained macroeconomic stability.

The Minister underscored Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s unwavering leadership and resolve in spearheading Pakistan’s economic reform agenda that has been instrumental in restoring macroeconomic stability and setting the foundation for sustainable growth.

He emphasized that Pakistan remains committed to deepening structural reforms, ensuring fiscal responsibility, and promoting transparency and good governance as key pillars of long-term economic resilience.

The meeting reflected the spirit of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on 16 June 2025 between Pakistan’s Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives and the UAE Ministry of Cabinet Affairs, which provides a formal framework for collaboration.

The MoU reinforces the shared commitment of both governments to modernise governance, build institutional capacity, and develop future-ready public administration systems.

Ambassador Faisal Niaz Tirmizi, Pakistan’s Envoy to the UAE, was also present during the meeting.

The eight-member visiting delegation led by Mr. Bilal Azhar Kayani includes Mr. Ali Zahid, Member National Assembly of Pakistan, and senior government officials from the Prime Minister’s Office and other entities.

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