New UAE ambassador to Pakistan is seasoned diplomat

A new UAE ambassador to Pakistan has been named.

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DUBAI // The new UAE ambassador to Pakistan is a "cool and calm" diplomat who will help to boost ties between the two countries, said his counterpart in Abu Dhabi.

Essa Abdulla Al Basha Al Noaimi, a career diplomat with 30 years of experience in the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is scheduled to arrive in Islamabad today to take up his new role on the subcontinent.

The appointment has been welcomed by Pakistan's ambassador to the Emirates, Jamil Ahmed Khan.

"He is a very seasoned, well-polished, cool and calm diplomat," Mr Ahmed Khan said. "What I've come to realise after meeting him and having discussions with him is that he is a person with a zeal to enhance bilateral relations between our two countries."

Mr Al Noaimi replaces Ali Saif Sultan Al Awani, who returns to take up a new role in Abu Dhabi after three years in the post.

"Even before going to Pakistan he has discussed with me his future plans regarding investment in Pakistan and enhancement of trade," Mr Ahmed Khan said.

"He has also discussed setting up a Pak-UAE Business Council to bring the business communities of the two countries closer together.

"These are challenging times and we need dynamic and determined people in the region such as Mr Al Noaimi working with us. I'm sure with this new ambassador we will see the relationship between the two countries hit new heights and be even more successful."

Mr Al Noaimi, born in 1956, was serving as the Foreign Ministry's director of African Affairs Department in the UAE.

His unofficial Facebook page lists an extensive career, including ambassador to Sudan.

In April 2007, he was awarded the deanship of diplomatic corps for Sudan in Khartoum.

As the outgoing ambassador to Sudan in 2009, he was awarded the first degree of the Order of Two Niles from the Sudanese president Omar Hassan Al Bashir for his efforts in boosting ties between the two countries.

He has also held non-resident ambassador posts in Uganda, Chad and Tanzania during his time in Sudan.

Mr Al Noaimi was the acting ambassador for the UAE in Beijing, and consul-general in Bandar Abbas in Iran.

He has experience working in UAE embassies in New Delhi, Damascus, Tehran, Dhaka and Islamabad, as well as the foreign ministry headquarters in Abu Dhabi.

He has taken part in several UAE delegations to the United Nations.

Mr Al Noaimi obtained a bachelor's degree in Geography and International Studies from United Arab Emirates University in 1980.

nhanif@thenational.ae