India, Pakistan foreign ministers in Abu Dhabi on Sunday

Both Indian and Pakistani foreign ministers will be in Abu Dhabi on Sunday at the invitation of the UAE government. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi is already in the UAE, while Indian Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar is expected to arrive on Sunday.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, will hold talks with his counterparts from India and Pakistan.

“At the invitation of his counterpart, EAM Dr S Jaishankar will be visiting Abu Dhabi on 18th April 2021. His discussions will focus on economic cooperation and community welfare,” Arindam Bagchi, Spokesperson, Indian Ministry of External Affairs, tweeted on Saturday.

This development comes after Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE Ambassador to the US, confirmed last Wednesday that the UAE is mediating between India and Pakistan to forge a functional relationship between the two neighbours and rivals. India and Pakistan enjoy warm ties with the UAE built over decades of economic and people-to-people contacts. Otaiba said that while India and Pakistan might not become “best friends”, the UAE wanted the bilateral relationship between the two neighbours to be one where they speak to each other.

“We don’t think they are going to become... ‘Most Favoured Nations’ with each other, but I think it is important for them to have a healthy, functional relationship, which is exactly our objective,” Al Otaiba said.