UAE Minister of Foreign Trade H.E. Sheikha Lubna Bint Khalid Al Qasimi headed a meeting on investment opportunities available in Russia and the UAE participated in by her accompanying trade and economic delegation and Russian economic interests during her recent visit to Moscow, Russia. Also present during the dialogue was H.E. Omar Saif Ghabash, the UAE Ambassador in Moscow. Investment incentives in both countries and the need to remove investment obstacles were also explored. H.E. Sheikha Lubna noted that the leaderships of the two countries are willing to enhance bilateral trade and economic partnership, pointing out that economic parties and businessmen also desire higher levels of cooperation and will continue to search for investment opportunities.
The Minister reviewed the advantages of the UAE’s economy, referring to the national policy of diversifying sources of income as instrumental in revealing several investment opportunities in various sectors, such as the industrial, tourism and renewable energy fields. She also noted that the UAE places great importance on the renewable energy sector, citing the unique merits of the MASDAR project not only at the regional level but at the global level as well. The UAE official then spoke of the investment opportunities in Russia and the UAE. She said that the GDP of the UAE rose by 13.9 per cent to reach USD 801 billion in 2008, and is expected to grow sufficiently enough this year to support national development goals. She also pointed out that the federal budget for 2009 increased by 24 percent over last year. “We were keen to establish an open market, promoting economic diversification, free zones, and 100 per cent foreign ownership. In addition, we have adopted pro-business policies and eliminated obstacles to trade, all of which have transformed the country into an international trade hub,” said H.E. Sheikha Lubna. “Non-oil sectors contributed AED 457 billion to the 2008 GDP, an increase of 8.4 per cent over 2007.
The real estate sector in particular has been performing credibly as it influenced 30 per cent of national income over the past few years and will remain a major source of business,” she added. For his part, H.E. Saeed Al Jarwan, Second Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), emphasized the need to work on expanding and strengthening economic cooperation between the two countries, especially in the areas of high technology, energy, oil, and banking. H.E. Al Jarwan placed importance on the removal of obstacles that limit the productivity of businessmen. He discussed the need to expand the exchange of consumer goods produced by the UAE and Russia, especially commodities and products which have preferential advantages in terms of price and quality, such as home and office furniture, plastic products, clothing, dyes, building materials, and foodstuffs. He also spoke of the importance of constant information on the needs of local markets for goods and services, particularly those that have comparative advantages in both countries. He urged the use of the chambers of commerce for the dissemination of market trends to businessmen and companies. The SCCI official concluded by talking about how Russian expertise and experience in establishing vocational training centers and technical education centers in the UAE should be taken advantage of in order to support small and medium industries. Nazem Al Qudsi, Chief Executive of the Abu Dhabi Investment Company, emphasized that the return on investment in infrastructure is large and more profitable than other sectors as he spoke of the opportunities available in both countries for infrastructure investments. H.E. Otaiba Al Otaiba, a member of the Board of Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, pointed out that the UAE trade and economic mission to Moscow will further advance commercial and economic relations between both countries.
