Belarus attaches great importance to cooperation with the United Arab Emirates and sees significant potential for expansion of cooperation in all fields. This was discussed today during the meeting of the President of Belarus - Alexander Lukashenko with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy-Commander of the armed forces of the UAE - Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
The head of state pays a working visit to the UAE. This country is the main trade partner of Belarus among the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. In the last five years the bilateral trade has more than doubled. However, as it was noted during the meeting, on the background of the high-level political engagement the economy potential of cooperation between Belarus and the United Arab Emirates is not used fully.
The meeting lasted more than two hours. The current projects were discussed. Tasks for the near future were designated. Specific instructions were given on the definition of a number of key projects in order to bring the relationship to a new level. The Parties welcomed the positive outcome of the second meeting of the Joint Committee on Cooperation between the Government of Belarus and the UAE. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan offered Alexander Lukashenko to extend his stay in the UAE and continue bilateral contacts on matters of mutual interest to the two countries.
The major exports of Belarus to the United Arab Emirates are the production of machine-building, chemical industry, tobacco products. In the year 2013, 14 organizations with Emirati capital were registered in Belarus and attracted investment amounting to $ 54 million. This country shows serious interest in investing in Belarus. And we are ready to offer attractive projects in various fields.
With regard to the international agenda, positions on all key issues are the same: the two countries have similar approaches to building a strong and independent state and the implementation of multi-vector and balanced foreign policy.
