Vladimir Putin became the first head of the Russian state to visit the Emirates since the founding of the UAE as an independent state in 1971.
The presidents of the UAE and Russia held fruitful negotiations in Abu Dhabi, ending with the signing of a number of bilateral agreements. During the negotiations, a wide range of issues was discussed regarding the expansion of trade, economic, investment and cultural ties between the two countries.
"The UAE is interested in developing partnerships and friendships with Russia, especially in the areas of economy, trade and investment," said UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.
In turn, Vladimir Putin noted that "Russia perceives the Emirates as an important partner in the region," emphasizing the desire of the Russian Federation to strengthen relations with all six countries that are members of the Gulf Cooperation Council. The talks between the two leaders also touched upon a discussion of the problems of war and peace. Sheikh Khalifa expressed his admiration for the work of the Russian Federation as part of the so-called quartet for a peaceful settlement in the Middle East, which in addition to Russia includes the EU, UN and the USA.
Vladimir Putin thanked the emirate president for helping build the Russian Orthodox church in the UAE, the first on the Arabian Peninsula, whose foundation stone was consecrated and laid the foundation of the future temple in the emirate of Sharjah on the eve of a high visit.
As a result of negotiations, bilateral agreements on cooperation in the fight against organized crime and money laundering, as well as political advice and banking, were signed.
Based on the agreement, Russia will pay the United Arab Emirates $ 580 million to pay off the debt of the former USSR. The number of flights between the two countries will be increased during periods of peak growth in passenger traffic. Moscow and Abu Dhabi will become more active in the fight against crime and terrorism.
Deputy Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation Sergey Storchak announced in Abu Dhabi that before the end of September - in October, Russia will repay the UAE debt, which has been hanging since the days of the USSR. According to him, the agreement is beneficial to Russia, since it was written off part of the penalty interest.
Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation Igor Levitin announced the decision to increase the number of charter air carriers on peak days when Russian tourists arrive in the UAE to rest. He called the UAE an important transit point for Russia.
"A bilateral agreement on cooperation in the fight against crime allows us to build a legal framework and resolve issues in the antiterrorist and anti-criminal areas," Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev said at a press conference in Abu Dhabi. "It provides us with a basic basis for concretizing activities.
One of the areas of cooperation is personnel training and joint headquarters exercises of the special services, "the minister said." We agreed to create a bilateral group that could conduct operational-search activities substantively on-line. The Emirate’s colleagues agreed with this proposal, "Nurgaliyev said. Now, according to the Minister, mutual information in the field of combating organized crime and international terrorism will be constant. Russia and the UAE will also cooperate on issues related to economic crimes, to search for criminals and in the fight against cyber terrorism.
As part of Vladimir Putin’s official visit on September 10, the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi also held a regular meeting of the Russian-Emirate Business Council (REDS), co-chaired by Valery Okulov, Aeroflot’s general director, from the Russian side. The plenary meeting of the Business Council was attended by Tatyana Gvilava, director of the Russian-Arab Business Council on the Russian side, Vladimir Yevtushenkov, co-chair of the RADC on the Russian side, representatives of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of all seven emirates, Russian and Emirate ministers, Andrei Zakharov, Russian Ambassador to the UAE, employees of the Russian embassy in the UAE, businessmen from both countries. The forum discussed the expansion of cooperation between Russia and the UAE in various sectors of the economy, including investment, transport, construction, high technology and other areas. The participants of the forum from the Emirate side told the audience about the features of doing business in the UAE and the investment potential of the Emirates. The Russians, in turn, presented the most promising investment projects in Russia and invited the emirate businessmen to jointly participate in their implementation. The next meeting of the REDS will be held in 2008 in Kazan.
UAE President presents the highest state award to the United Arab Emirates - the Order of Zayed - to Vladimir Putin
The presentation of the Order of Zayed, named after the founding father and first president of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan, took place in the capital of the Emirates of Abu Dhabi. The award ceremony of Russian President Vladimir Putin preceded the talks between the leaders of the two countries. As His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan noted, the order was awarded to the President of Russia "in recognition of the strength of relations between the two countries." As a rule, the "Order of Zayed" is awarded to heads of state.
The UAE's highest honors are only a few people in the world, including the President of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov, the President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf, the Crown Prince of Kuwait, Sheikh Navaf al-Ahmed al-Sabaa and the President of FIFA, Joseph Blatter.
The exhibition "Treasures of the Moscow Kremlin" opened in the capital of the UAE
An exhibition "Arsenal of Russian Tsars: Treasures of the Moscow Kremlin" opened in Abu Dhabi. Before the official opening, the exhibition was visited by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was in the United Arab Emirates on his first official visit.
The exhibition "Arsenal of Russian Tsars: Treasures of the Moscow Kremlin" opened in one of the halls of the luxurious metropolitan hotel Emirates Palace. It presents more than 100 exhibits from the collections of the oldest Russian Museum of the Armory - ceremonial weapons, clothing, armor and other items from the arsenal of Russian tsars and emperors. Many of the exhibits are exhibited outside Russia for the first time. On the Emirate side, the organizer of the exhibition was the Abu Dhabi Committee on Culture and Cultural Heritage.
Vladimir Putin examined the exhibition prepared for the opening, accompanied by the Minister of Culture of the UAE, Abdurahman Al-Uveis, and the director of the Moscow Kremlin museums Elena Gagarina. A special pride of the exposition is the ceremonial royal helmet, the so-called "Jericho hat", created in Istanbul at the end of the 16th century and bearing a quote from the Holy Quran. Another notable exhibit of the exhibition was a saber and scabbard for it, created by the Emirate masters and donated to Leonid Brezhnev by the first UAE President Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan in 1982 through Sheikh Mubarak Al-Nahyan.
At the end of the exhibition, Abdurahman Al-Uweis said that it "strengthens friendship and develops relations between the two countries." Vladimir Putin, in turn, proposed the development of a cultural exchange program.
As it became known from the message of the emirate newspaper Emirates Today, next year in the Abu Dhabi Cultural Fund it is planned to hold an exhibition of Islamic art, collected from exhibits of Russian museums. Work is also underway on a project for an exhibition of contemporary Russian art. Officially, the exhibition opened on September 10 at 19.00. She will work until November 18th. Admission is free for all comers.
/ Victor Lebedev, Anastasia Zorina
Photos: Irina Ivanova /
