The UAE, not to mention the GCC as a whole, and Russia are joined together by extremely vital strategic and economic interests, especially after the fundamental changes that have been ushered in international relations over recent years. These have resulted in similar transformations in global power equations, where ties — especially economic ones such as those between the GCC countries and Russia — do not truly reflect the shared interests that bind them together.

Thus, the recent visit made by General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, to Russia, reflects the role played by the UAE in seeking to make full use of the on-going global developments and find more balanced relations. The UAE is also keen on enhance its growth by relying on long term strategic relations.

Reality tells us that potential areas of co-operation between the two countries are enormous. However, its current situation does not reflect its potential as indicated by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trade between the two countries last year touched Dh5.5 billion, which is quite a humble total compared with the huge export capabilities of the UAE and the massive size of the Russian market and its over 143 million population. Here we cannot help but compare the sum to the trade exchange e between the UAE and China which surpassed Dh147 billion last year.

Areas of interest

Important spin-offs are expected following the visit by Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed, especially as it was crowned by a number of economic and investment agreements between Abu Dhabi’s Department of Finance and the Russian Diret Investment Fund. The Department will invest $5 billion (Dh18.3 billion) in Russian infrastructure

Russia and GCC countries are joined in a number of mutual areas of possible interest. Both GCC and Russia are oil and gas exporting countries and have a share of 30 per cent of global oil production. However, their co-operation in this field is still limited, despite the fact that Russian oil companies own substantial investments in some of the exporting countries such as Iraq, Algeria, and Libya.

Apart from the oil sector, Russia is considered a major supplier of agricultural products, especially wheat and barley. This is in addition to its advanced defence industry and its status in the space and communication sectors.

Competitiveness

The UAE and GCC countries have achieved great strides in manufacturing recent years, especially in the area of consumable products that could have demand in Russia. However, these are not well promoted in the Russian markets despite the fact that Gulf producers enjoy such high standards and levels of competitiveness.

During the past two decades, relations have developed significantly between the two. New airline services have been launched to several Russian cities and the UAE has become one of the most important destinations for outbound Russian tourism.

Having said that, there are still key sectors in the banking and financial sectors that have not been touched upon till now; these can contribute to significantly in financing joint projects and increase the trade exchange between the two countries.

In this respect, Russian banks could open branches in the UAE, while UAE banks can do so in Russia. Moreover, financing protocols can be looked into along with joint ventures. This will lead to a quantum leap in economic relations.

Private sector

Shaikh Mohammad’s visit to Russia has opened the doors in the widest manner to develop shared interests in the public and private sectors in the two countries. This calls for the UAE’s private sector to make use of the huge opportunities available in the Russian markets and to extend a hand towards Russia, especially as it enjoys the support and backing of the state through many facilities.

Dr Mohammad Al Asoomi is a UAE economic expert and specialist in economic and social development in the UAE and the GCC countries.