Press release on Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s visit to the United Arab Emirates

On November 3-4, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will pay a working visit to the United Arab Emirates.

His programme includes meetings with representatives of UAE leadership, including talks with Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

Mr Lavrov is also expected to take part in the Sir Bani Yas Forum on peace and security. This international discussion venue has substantially enhanced its authority recently. This year, the forum is expected to bring about 120 participants together, including foreign ministers, top acting and former politicians, world business leaders and representatives of academic circles.

In addition, during his stay in the UAE, Mr Lavrov will visit the Russian School of Abu Dhabi that opened in September 2022. It is an affiliate of the Yevgeny Primakov Gymnasium.

This upcoming visit will be a major component in the intensive political dialogue whereby the two countries maintain regular contacts at top and other levels. In October 2019, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin paid a state visit to the UAE. The latest meeting of the leaders of the two states took place in St Petersburg on October 11, 2022.

The foreign ministries of the two countries maintain close and effective cooperation. This year, their foreign ministers will meet for the fourth time (in March Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan visited Moscow; in June they had a separate conversation on the sidelines of the Russia-Gulf Cooperation Council strategic dialogue session in Riyadh, and on September 23, they met during the 77th UN General Assembly session in New York). The ministers also regularly talk over the telephone (three times this year).

Despite numerous external challenges, Russia and the UAE continue to steadily develop their relations. In 2021, bilateral trade increased by 64.5 percent compared to 2020 to $5.36 billion. This leap made the UAE our leading trade partner in the Arab world. It is gratifying that this trend is becoming sustainable – in the first seven months of 2022, trade approached $3 billion.

The Intergovernmental Russia-UAE Commission on Trade, Economic and Technical Cooperation is playing a big role in promoting the entire range of bilateral ties. It is co-chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov and UAE Economy Minister Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri.

Considering the UAE’s current status as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, the sides plan to discuss ways of enhancing bilateral coordination on key international issues. We are glad to note that our positions are similar or identical on most issues.

During the talks, the ministers will compare positions on key items on the global and Middle Eastern agendas. They will focus on the need to settle the persisting conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa via an inclusive dialogue that takes into account the lawful interests of all involved parties. The developments in Yemen, Libya, Syria and the Arab-Israeli peace process will be discussed in this context.

Special attention will be paid to sustainable stabilisation in the Gulf area with reliance on the relevant Russian conceptual proposals. Mr Lavrov’s visit will take place as part of our consistent efforts to promote versatile and mutually beneficial cooperation with the UAE. We believe the strategic character of our partnership meets the long-term interests of Moscow and Abu Dhabi and helps to promote peace, security and regional and global stability.