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 at Friday, 27 Nobember 2015, 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.