Trade Representation of the Russian Federation opened at the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the capital of the UAE, Abu Dhabi.
Another step towards was made in strengthening trade and economic relations between the two countries — Russia and the UAE through creating a new official trade representation of the Russian Federation at the territory of theUAE.
The organization will provide every possible assistance and support to any projects of Russian entrepreneurs in the UAE and of the Emirati businessmen in Russia. Traditionally, the real estate sector, tourism and a number of other fields of economy and production are the branches most actively involving mutual cooperation of business representatives from the two countries.
The event, which took place during the Representation opening, was attended by high officials: the UAE Foreign Trade and Industry Undersecretary Abdulla A. Al Saleh, and on the Russian side — First Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Gleb Nikitin, Russian Ambassador to the UAE Alexander Efimov, Trade Representative of the Russian Federation in the UAE Ara Melikyan. Al Aroud Group headed by the RBC Chairman Mr. Saleh Al Aroud has provided general sponsorship for the official opening of the Trade Representation Office.
Trade Representative of the Russian Federation in the UAE Ara Melikyan has stressed that "Trade and economic relations between Russia and the UAE have got to a whole new level, both in volumes of foreign trade turnover, and in terms of communication intensity at a high and the highest levels ... Just a few years ago the volume of foreign trade turnover hovered at around USD 0.5 billion annually, but now it exceeds USD 2 billion.” “Our task is to further increase these figures" he added.
Russian Trade Representation’s nearest mission is to meet Russian delegations at the Big 5 and Gulf Food exhibitions in Dubai and ADIPEC in Abu Dhabi, as well as prepare for the participation of Russia in the World Expo 2020.
In his interview to the Russia Today TV channel pictured above, UAE Foreign Trade and Industry Undersecretary Abdulla Al Saleh has emphasized that “Despite the growth of foreign trade turnover between our countries and the strengthening of investment relations, there is still a great potential for cooperation between the Russian Federation and the UAE."
Business representatives have also attended the meeting. Among them there were Vice President Head of Upstream Middle East at Lukoil Oil Company Gati Saadi Al-Jebouri, Vice Chairman of the Russian Business Council and Head of IMEX Real Estate Oleg Lavrik, etc.
Commenting on the importance of the event, Gleb Nikitin noted that the emirates would like to see Russia as an investor in industrial projects on the territory of the UAE, while Oleg Lavrik’s also pointed out to the growing volume of investments in the UAE real estate from Russian investors and expressed the hope for further expansion of business ties between our countries with the active assistance of official bodies, such as the Trade Representation.
The tasks of the newly created Trade Representation will include, inter alia, an assistance in the promotion of Russian goods and services to the UAE market, as well as attracting investment from the Russian Federation to the UAE and backwards, while creating favorable conditions and (importantly) providing credits to Russian participants in the foreign trade activities in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and other emirates.