The Pakistani government has offered United Arab Emirates (UAE) entities an unspecified stake in PIA - Pakistan International Airlines (PK, Islamabad International) according to Pakistani business media. The offer, citing "informed sources in the finance division" was made during meetings in mid-January 2023.
According to Pakistan's Business Recorder, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met with UAE officials in Abu Dhabi and Dubai on January 12 and 13. In Abu Dhabi, he raised the prospects of entities there taking stakes in five Pakistani state-owned entities (SOEs), including Pakistan International Airlines. Sharif held talks with the heads of two UAE investment funds, namely state-owned investment company Abu Dhabi Development Holding Company, and International Holdings Company, which is majority owned by Abu Dhabi's royal family. The funds, which hold portfolios valued at USD300 billion dollars, have previously expressed interest in investing in profitable Pakistani SOEs. The UAE and Pakistan also have in train a proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) that the Pakistani government estimates will generate USD10.6 billion in bilateral trade annually. ch-aviation has contacted both Abu Dhabi entities for further information on the talks.
Meanwhile, Sharif also travelled to Dubai where talks there centred on transferring management rights of unspecified airports in Pakistan to the UAE and to start allowing A380-800s to land at Islamabad International, potentially benefitting Emirates (EK, Dubai International). Pakistan's three biggest airports are Karachi International, Islamabad, and Lahore International. The owner and operator of all three airports is the state-owned Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA). According to ch-aviation PRO airports data, Islamabad's runway is an A380 capable 3,900 metres (12,795 feet) in length. Emirates, Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi International), PIA-Pakistan International Airlines, and Serene Air (ER, Islamabad International) all presently offer scheduled passenger flights between Islamabad and airports in the UAE.
