Conclusion of a free trade zone agreement between the United Arab Emirates and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) will be an important basis for the development of economic ties, the necessary documents are already being coordinated, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday at a press conference following talks with UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
"We proceed from the fact that the conclusion of a free trade agreement between the United Arab Emirates and the Eurasian Economic Union will be an important aid to the development of economic ties. We actively support this work, and the necessary documents are already being coordinated," he said.
Lavrov noted that trade and economic ties between Russia and the UAE are developing well. "We have managed to ensure significant growth in trade turnover. Last year it was almost $5.5 billion. This has put the UAE in first place among our trade and economic partners in the Arab world," he added.
The Russian foreign minister drew attention to the important role of the Russian- Emirati Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic and Technical Cooperation, the 10th session of which was held in Dubai last November.
According to Lavrov, the Russian Direct Investment Fund and the Emirates' sovereign fund Mubadala cooperate well. "As a new promising area of such partnership, we noted the fight against pandemic COVID-19 on the basis of innovative Russian developments," Lavrov added.
In addition, the minister stressed that cooperation between the UAE and Russia is now actively developing through ministries and agencies. "There is vigorous work to implement the agreements that were reached during the state visit of President [Russian President Vladimir] Putin to the United Arab Emirates in October 2019 and during the subsequent contacts of our leaders," he added and noted the visits, which took place in the context of the World Expo 2020 in the UAE.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS