The value of non-oil trade between the UAE and Russia has reached $14.1 billion in the past five years, with the figure standing at $3.4 billion in 2018 – a 36% year-on-year (YoY) growth compared to a year earlier, WAM reported.
Abdullah Al Saleh, undersecretary at the UAE’s Ministry of Economy for Foreign Trade Affairs, said that more than 3,000 Russian companies were operating in the UAE, mainly in sectors such as real estate, manufacturing, trade, and telecoms, with 576 trademarks and 25 registered commercial agencies.
The official added that Russian investments in the UAE exceed $2 billion, while the UAE is the top Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) country investing into Russia in terms of foreign direct inflows (FDI), driven by agreements in the areas of infrastructure, transport, vehicle manufacturing, petrochemicals, and scientific research.
He also pointed out that the UAE accounts for some 7.4 percent of Russian exports to Arab countries, as well as for 7.7 percent of Russian foreign trade with the Arab region.
Al Saleh highlighted the fact that the number of Russian tourists staying in Emirati hotels totaled 1.83 million in 2018, an increase of 37.4 percent, or 788,000 new visitors compared to 2017, while the number of Russian tourists occupying hotels in the UAE in the first half of 2019 totaled 555,000.
Statistics, released by Dubai Customs during this week’s landmark visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the UAE, showed that major commodities between the two sides were diamonds, gold, phones, cigars and vehicle spare parts.
The two countries have signed several agreements to reinforce their economic and trade cooperation in the areas of infrastructure, transport, vehicle manufacturing, petrochemicals, and scientific research, Al Saleh noted.
