UAE – Mubasher: The non-oil trade between the UAE and Russia valued at $14.1 billion over the past five years, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Economy for Foreign Trade Affairs Abdullah Al Saleh told Emirates News Agency (WAM) in an interview.
The value of non-trade between the two countries reached $3.5 billion in 2018, increasing by 36% from $2.5 billion in 2017, Al Saleh said.
Al Saleh also remarked that bilateral and economic ties between the two nations have grown significantly under the framework of their comprehensive strategic partnership unveiled last year.
More than 3,000 Russian companies are currently operating in the UAE, particularly in real estate, trade, manufacturing, and telecommunication, along with 576 trademarks and 25 registered commercial agencies, he added.
He highlighted that the UAE is ranked first among the GCC countries in terms of foreign direct investments (FDI) into Russia, pointing out that Russian investments in the UAE surpassed $2 billion.
The UAE makes up 7.4% of Russian exports to Arab countries and accounts for 7.7% of Russian foreign trade with the Arab region, the under-secretary of the economy ministry said.
In terms of tourism, the Emirati hotels have welcomed around 1.83 million Russian tourists in 2018, up by 37.4% or 788,000 visitors from in 2017, Al Saleh said.
In the first half of 2019, the number of Russian guests occupying hotels in the UAE totalled 555,000, he indicated.
He further noted that the UAE and Russia have signed a number of agreements to support their economic and trade cooperation in the fields of infrastructure, transport, vehicle manufacturing, petrochemicals, and scientific research.
