The «Russia-UAE» business dialogue has outlined new cooperation vectors

On April 8 in Moscow within the framework of the IV International Exhibition "Arabia-Expo" "Business Russia" together with the Russian Association of Small-Scale Energy held a business dialog "Russia - United Arab Emirates". The discussion was moderated by Maxim Zagornov, Business Ambassador of Business Russia in the UAE and President of the Small Energy Association.

Opening the event, the business ambassador noted that the interaction between the business community of Russia and the Arab Emirates is now reaching a new qualitative level. According to the expert, last year's trade turnover between Russia and the United Arab Emirates amounted to 1.6 billion dollars. The UAE is an effective platform for doing business not only in this country, but also for promoting the trade and economic interests of Russian business in the Middle East and North Africa region.

"At the moment, about 5 thousand companies with Russian participation are registered in the United Arab Emirates. And every year the interest of domestic entrepreneurs in this country grows," Maxim Zagornov noted. - It is no coincidence that in the ranking of the attractiveness of the world's countries for non-resource non-energy exports from Russia, the United Arab Emirates is among the top ten leading countries".

Ara Melikyan, Trade Representative of the Russian Federation in the United Arab Emirates, noted that the main potential for the development of trade and economic relations between Russia and the UAE lies in industrial partnership. Cooperation in agriculture and food production remains promising. "Contrary to the stereotype persisting in Russia that the Emirates' economy is based on oil, real estate and tourism, the UAE market is very capacious and mobile," the trade representative noted. - Today the country is actively developing energy, metallurgy, IT-sector, transportation, chemical and food industries, as well as the financial sector".

Oleg Lavrik, Vice Chairman of the Russian Council of Entrepreneurs in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, told the participants of the business dialog about investment opportunities in Dubai. The expert emphasized the main advantages of this territory: favorable geographical location, developed infrastructure and communications, absence of political risks, visa-free entry for up to 3 months, the possibility of registering an offshore company, comfortable conditions not only for doing business, but also for living. It is no coincidence that more than 200 countries, including Russia, are investing in Dubai today.

Vakhtang Sagareishvili, Deputy General Director of Victoria Estate Management Company, presented the investment opportunities of Russian regions to the UAE entrepreneurs. He told about investment projects within the framework of VICTORIA INDUSTRIAL PARK development and invited Emirati entrepreneurs to cooperate.

During the business dialogue about the successful experience of introducing Russian products to the UAE market told the general director of the International Center for Standardization and Certification "Halal" Aidar Gazizov, co-owner of the company "Promark-Export" Alexander Malyutin, export director of the holding "United Confectioners" Alla Orlova. As noted by the speakers, the economic development of the United Arab Emirates, as well as the development of the tourism industry today give birth to a high demand for food. Today, 85% of food products presented in the market of this country are imported from abroad. With international certificates, knowledge of the market and competitive environment, and proper positioning, quality products from Russia have every chance of reaching the shelves of chain retailers in the United Arab Emirates.

During the business dialog "Russia - UAE" the topic of business tourism and hospitality was also raised. According to Elena Krivenkova, a member of the General Council of "Business Russia" and Chair of the Tourism Committee, in 2018 the tourism sector brought $19.8 billion to the UAE economy. "Business missions have a multiplicative effect on the development of inter-industry ties between the Middle East and Russia," the General Council member said. She also shared the experience of organizing business missions, during which representatives of Russian companies are helped to find new clients and partners, determine the degree of interest in cooperation and receive feedback from potential foreign partners.

In general, summarizing the discussion, the participants of the Russia-UAE Business Dialogue noted that trade and economic cooperation between the two countries is becoming more qualitative and productive every year. This is facilitated, first of all, by the policy of information activity. "The very fact that the Russia-UAE Business Dialogue and, in general, the IV International Exhibition Arabia EXPO gathered such a large number of participants in Moscow testifies to the fact that both Russian and Arab business are interested in business partnership," emphasized Maxim Zagornov, Business Ambassador of Delovaya Rossiya in the UAE. - The vector of cooperation has been set. It is necessary to bring the existing potential of economic relations to a new level".

The international exhibition "Arabia-Expo 2019" takes place in Moscow on April 8-10. Round tables and country business dialogues are held on the margins of the exhibition. Representatives of most countries of the Arab world and Russian regions take part in the exhibition. The exhibition features stands and products from Morocco, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, Qatar and Egypt.