Abdullah bin Zayed chairs UAE-Russia joint committee meeting

The UAE maintains historic, friendly and special relations with Russia, H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister, has said, noting that these ties are stable and based on the spirit of mutual understanding and respect and a common desire to take them to new heights.

H.H. Sheikh Abdullah was addressing the fifth meeting of the UAE-Russia joint ministerial committee at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abu Dhabi yesterday, which discussed ways of enhancing economic, trade and investment cooperation.

Denis Manturov, Minister of Trade and Industry of the Russian Federation, chaired his country's delegation at the meeting, which was attended by Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State, and a number of senior officials and representatives of companies in both countries.

'The UAE highly values these bilateral ties and the growth witnessed over the recent years in these ties. We believe that the fifth meeting of the UAE-Russia joint ministerial committee will provide tremendous and diverse opportunities to review these ties, explore new avenues for greater success and remove obstacles that may hamper the progress of these ties, whether between the governments or private sectors,' H.H. said.

'No doubt the relations between leaders of the two countries, which have grown strong over recent years, have had a positive impact on the progress of ties. There were reciprocal visits, closer contacts and exchange of views on a variety of challenges and issues in the region,' he said, citing recent contacts between His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who instructed for a further push in bilateral ties through this committee.

H.H. added that Sheikh Mohamed's visit to Moscow last October had seen the UAE and Russian leaders discussing broader cooperation and exchanging views on regional issues. The visit, he said, had underscored the keenness of the two countries' leaderships to boost ties, particularly in the economic field.

'Relations between the two countries are important and we believe that there should be continued efforts to advance them and explore the possibility of bolstering them, implementing the signed agreements and seeking opportunities for concluding those under-consideration.' H.H. welcomed the consistent support that each country showed for the other in international organisations and consultations between their respective ministries of foreign affairs.

'No doubt the size of Emirati and Russian delegations to these meetings demonstrates the scope of attention both countries paid to the enhancement of ties. Sectoral diversity in the formation of both delegations also underscores the true desire, not only from the government side but also from the private sector, to push ties forward,' H.H. emphasised.

Sheikh Abdullah expressed his interest to see more flights between the two countries, which would promote cooperation and investment in tourism and air transport.

The committee witnessed many constructive dialogues, he said, expressing his thanks to the chairman and members of the preparatory committee for their efforts to present recommendations.

For his part, the Russian minister thanked Sheikh Abdullah for the warm welcome and hospitality, praising the distinguished bilateral ties.

The two ministers signed the final minutes of the fifth meeting of the UAE-Russia joint ministerial committee.

They also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in sports which was sealed by Ibrahim Abdul Malek, Secretary General of General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare, and Alexander Efimov, Russian Ambassador to the UAE.

Mohammed Ahmed Al Shehi, Undersecretary of Ministry of Economy for Economic Affairs, and Efimov inked another MoU on intellectual property rights.

'I would like to express my profound gratitude and appreciation for the fifth meetings of the committee that have been very successful. The UAE-Russia ties are strategic. Russia is a strategic partner of the UAE and we are looking forward for broader bilateral cooperation in diverse areas,' Sheikh Abdullah stated after the signing of legal documents.

H.H. reiterated the UAE's condemnation of the series of terrorist acts that struck many countries recently, mainly the Russian plane that crashed over Sinai Peninsula in Egypt and the recent shooting down of the Russian military plane in Syria.

He said, 'The two countries maintain close partnership that grew over the recent years and we believe that these bonds deserve even more effort to boost and diversify them.' He noted the increasing attention being paid to the flow of investment between the two countries. 'We believe that what Mubadala Development Co. and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) are doing is yet another proof of the strong trust and cooperation between the two countries. Definitely, the conclusion of the MoUs on cooperation in sports and intellectual property demonstrates the diversity of ties, not only in political, military and investment domains but also in sports and other economic aspects related to the protection of intellectual property rights.

'We think these aspects will further boost the investment climate as well as the economic cooperation and exchange and the people-to-people bonds."

Expressing his thanks to the Russian minister for his efforts in advancing the bilateral ties, Sheikh Abdullah said, 'Your desire and keenness have played a vital and strong role in solidifying these ties. No doubt, the directives of Emirati and Russian leaderships aim to expand cooperation in all spheres.' The Russian minister thanked Sheikh Abdullah for hosting the fifth meeting of the committee, noting that bilateral ties were based on direct cooperation between the leaders.

He said, 'In addition to our keenness to bolster these ties, we are also interested in building tripartite cooperation, particularly in our joint projects in Africa, Latin America and the Middle East, including Cuba, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Pakistan and Egypt. We hope such cooperation would generate opportunities and potentials for furthering our ties and increasing the flow of investments and trade exchange between us.' He expressed the hope for maintaining the current dynamism for further consolidating these ties in all fields, including economy, trade, investment and culture, referring to the two MoUs signed yesterday, along with a recent one in the area of judicial cooperation.

He thanked Sheikh Abdullah for his efforts to enhance bilateral diplomatic ties and for his sincere desire to develop economic cooperation, wishing success for the projects aimed at expanding the joint cooperation as discussed by the committee.

Earlier, Sheikh Abdullah and the Russian minister discussed bilateral friendly relations in areas of economy, trade and industry. They also exchanged views about a host of latest developments in the region that were of mutual concern.

Khaled Ghanem Al Ghaith, Assistant Foreign Minister for Economic Affairs and International Cooperation, and Omar Saif Gobash, UAE Ambassador to Russia, attended both meetings.

Source: WAM