ArmInfo. Gegham Gharibjanyan, the RA Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), at the presidential residence in the course of the meeting devoted to the development of the economic component of the country's foreign policy, reported to the President of Armenia on the agenda of economic relations between Armenia and the UAE, on the development of cooperation in the prospective spheres and activities carried out in the direction of their deepening, as well as on the implementation of agreements reached at the highest level.
As the head of the Armenian state told ArmInfo, noting that the development of relations with the Arab world among Armenia's foreign policy priorities, Sargsyan stressed that Yerevan has been actively developing cooperation with the Persian Gulf countries, especially with the UAE, for the past ten years, and their entrepreneurial skills, which in turn creates a fertile ground for the development of economic relations.
"The UAE has a political dialogue at a high level, and in economic relations, political dialogue is of decisive importance. Political dialogue by itself does not lead to activation of economic relations, but with the corresponding activities, the potential is seriously increased. Undoubtedly, we must clearly emphasize the successes achieved in the last two years in relations with the UAE and the results of 2017. The turnover for the period January-July of this year compared to the same period last year inspires us with optimism, as the volume has increased by 2.5 times.
There are serious opportunities for cooperation in the sphere of industry, jewelry production and, especially, in the sphere of food production. I believe that we have the potential for the development of tourism," the Armenian leader said, and in this context he recalled that the two countries had canceled the visa regime and the two Emirates airlines are carrying out regular flights between the two countries. He noted that the cost of tickets is understandable and acceptable. Sargsyan noted that this year 10 thousand Filipinos visited Armenia, the overwhelming majority of whomwork in the Emirates. "We are ready to accept 100,000 such tourists, and I believe that we must take advantage of this opportunity. I also attach importance to the investment forum held in March this year in Abu Dhabi and I believe that it should be of a lasting nature. Yes, we must make efforts to represent Armenia there, we are also obliged to participate in major events held there. These are mandatory and minimal conditions that will allow us to intensify our economic relations with the Emirates. I want everyone to clearly understand that the Emirates is not just a state with which we want to develop relations, it is a state of great importance for the countries of the Persian Gulf. That is, the Emirates also feeds a lot of markets of these states - this is the first circumstance. And secondly, the UAE highly values the capabilities of Armenia as a member state of the Eurasian Economic Union. I think that we are simply obliged to double, triple, our turnover within a year or two. I hope that in the foreseeable future we will once again have a high-level dialogue, whether in Armenia or in the UAE, since both in the business world and the political leadership there is a willingness. We have this opportunity," the Armenian President said.
At the end of the meeting, the head of state gave appropriate instructions.
According to the National Statistical Service, Armenia-UAE foreign trade turnover for January-July of 2017 amounted to $ 110.5 million, with annual growth of 2.5 times. Export amounted to $ 56.7 million with a growth of 2.8 times, imports - $ 53.8 million, with growth of 2.2 times.