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President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has arrived in Russia on an official visit.

An official welcoming ceremony for the President of the UAE and presentation of the delegations took place in the Kremlin’s St George Hall before the talks.

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Beginning of Russia-UAE talks

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Your Majesty, friends, Allow me to offer you my heartfelt greetings and welcome you to Moscow. Your Majesty, I am delighted to see you once again in the capital of Russia.

We attach special importance to our relations with the United Arab Emirates. For Russia, the UAE is a friendly nation, and we have been maintaining contacts at a high political level. There has been upward momentum in our economic ties, including both trade and investment. In fact, mutual investment has been on the rise.

Let me note that so far, Russia has been investing significantly more in the United Arab Emirates than vice versa. In fact, our investment is almost double the amount invested by the UAE here. That said, we recognise that your sovereign wealth fund and the Russian Direct Investment Fund have been quite effective in forging closer ties. Thank you for trusting Russian specialists in investment. We keep a close eye on this sector, which has been delivering tangible results.

Humanitarian cooperation between our two countries has been quite good too. I am referring to our contacts in education and culture. As far as I know, you have been interested in the way Sirius, our Sochi-based centre for talented youth, operates. It has come to the attention of your family members who travelled to Sirius to learn how it works, while you visited the Primakov School during your visit to Moscow. I do hope that we will make further strides in developing our relations along this track.

Of course, we should exchange views on regional developments and international security during today’s meeting. Our two countries have been proactive in working together in various formats, starting with the United Nations, and the UAE has recently joined BRICS as a full-fledged participant. You have also signed an agreement with the EAEU, which I believe contains a positive decision on 85 percent of traded product categories, with many customs duties reduced to zero.

Overall, we have much to discuss, considering the scale of our relations. We are delighted to see you here. Welcome, Your Majesty.

President of the UAE Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (retranslated): Thank you, Mr President. I am delighted to be here today in the capital of the Russian Federation, which is known for its great history.

Mr President, relations between our two countries have been gathering momentum in recent years. We are pleased with the way these relations have been developing in their current form, so let me share some figures with you.

Trade between Russia and the United Arab Emirates has reached US$11.5 billion. In terms of our trade with EAEU countries, this figure has reached US$30 billion. We would like these results to double within the next five years, both in terms of our bilateral trade and our relations with the EAEU countries.

It is a great pleasure for me and the accompanying delegation to be here today, Mr President. We have always sought to forge closer ties between our two countries. Thank you for your hospitality. We hope that this visit yields positive results and benefits the people of Russia and the UAE.

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