Turkish envoy showed the letter of FO for supporting Turkey while UAE showed letter written by Makhdoom Amin Fahim
Pakistani community was surprised to know that Pakistan had not voted for UAE
The Foreign Office (FO) appears to have failed in justifying its earlier vote for Turkey for hosting the Expo-2020 instead of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Sources in the FO claimed Turkey had approached the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government in March 2011 for supporting its bid for Expo-2020 in Izmir. The Foreign Office on the instructions of the then prime minister had assured Turkey of Pakistan’s support. The UAE entered the race later in the same year and designated Dubai for holding the event.
Immediately after the announcement, the UAE initiated its worldwide campaign for winning support. It approached Pakistan for the purpose but the government told the UAE representatives that Pakistan has already announced support for Turkey and that it would be difficult for Islamabad to change its mind.
But the then federal minister for commerce Makhdoom Amin Fahim is said to have assured the UAE emissary of support of his government for the Expo-2020. The Turkish envoy, just before the voting, showed the letter of Foreign Ministry of Pakistan for supporting Turkey while the UAE envoy showed the letter written by Makhdoom Amin Fahim.
Pakistan thus faced an embarrassing situation when assurance of its support was available for one slot to two different countries in the contest. Pakistan ultimately voted for Turkey much to the annoyance of the UAE delegate.
Turkey after its defeat in the initial round opted to withdraw from the contest and the UAE was confronting Brazil and Russian Federation, which designated Sao Paulo and Ekaterinburg as rendezvous for the Expo respectively.
Brazil opted to quit in the second round while Russia was voted out in the third and final round creating room for the UAE’s victory. The counting took place on November 27 and the announcement came in same evening, which was celebrated throughout the UAE.
Pakistan under the fresh instructions of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif voted for the UAE in the last two rounds.
UAE is one of the biggest investors in Pakistan and has the second largest concentration of overseas Pakistanis. It has been generous in its assistance for the calamity-affected people in Pakistan.
The FO is of the view that it was a difficult decision for Islamabad. The previous government had already given its commitment and it was difficult to change it.
Pakistan also enjoys cordial relations with Brazil and Russia but due to its peculiarity of ties with the UAE, the government opted to vote for the UAE ignoring the request by other contenders. Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, foreign minister of the UAE, later thanked Pakistan for its support in the later rounds.
The FO says such decisions are made at the highest political level and it isn’t essential that they remain in conformity with the set approach of the foreign policy. The FO did evaluate the outcome of the whole exercise when the results became public and it was decided that in future such decisions should be made after careful consideration, the sources maintained.
Pakistani community residing in the UAE was surprised to know that Pakistan had not voted for the UAE to host the Expo, according to a Gulf newspaper. Some Pakistanis have tried for the UAE to be voted the host. Pakistani owners of hotels in Dubai hope that the Expo will bring with it a flood of jobs that would benefit not only the UAE but also Pakistan.