ArmInfo. RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received Ahmed bin Ali Al Sayegh, Minister of State at the United Arab Emirates Foreign Ministry responsible for trade and economic affairs.
According to the Prime Minister's press service, Pashinyan emphasized the importance of taking joint steps to develop and expand bilateral trade and economic ties. According to him, bilateral cooperation has been developing dynamically recently. The Prime Minister expressed confidence that the visit of the Minister of State will give new impetus to the strengthening of Armenia-UAE ties.
Ahmed bin Ali Al Sayegh noted that he held fruitful discussions with partners of the RA government, directions and possible projects for expanding cooperation were outlined.
The meeting discussed relations between the two countries, as well as other issues of mutual interest.
At a hearing of the draft budget in Parliament on November 3, Armenian Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan said that the UAE is the largest investor of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the real sector of the Armenian economy.
According to the RA Statistics Committee data, the net inflow of investments into the Armenian economy from the UAE in H1 2023 reached $268 million, of which 98% accounted for FDI ($262 million). Both indicators increased impressively on a y-o-y terms - 52-56-fold. In particular, almost all of the UAE's investments were directed to the mining of metal ore, and the rest to the production of cigarettes, meanwhile the UAE has not previously made investments in both segments. At the same time, investments in the production of electrical equipment and retail trade were intensified. At the same time, the UAE reduced investments in aviation, and investments in food production were completely nullified.
According to the same statistical data, over 9 months, Armenia increased foreign trade with the UAE 2.3- fold. In particular, the volume of foreign trade turnover between Armenia and the UAE for Jan-Sept 2023 amounted to $726.3 million, with 2.3-fold continued high y-o-y growth, thanks to the continued impressive growth of exports. Thus, the volume of exports of Armenian goods to the UAE increased 2.4-fold y-o-y up to $665.5 million (2nd place), and the volume of imports - by 56.6% to $60.8 million, which, in comparison with last year's pace, indicates some slowdown in exports (from 4.7-fold) and acceleration in imports (from 41.9%). The UAE's share in Armenia's foreign trade turnover increased over the year from 3.4% to 5.3%, due to a sharp increase in the share in exports from 7.9% to 13% while maintaining the share in imports at 0.7%.
