Serious efforts are underway to establish regular contact between Russian and UAE, a high-ranking Russian politician said after his first visit to the UAE.
Moscow’s Vice-Mayor Valery Shantsev told the Gulf News that Russia is “keen on enhancing trade and cultural relations between Russian and UAE residents.
During the course of a two-day visit, he met with a number of local officials to set the groundwork.
"Moscow has regular cultural and economic contact with many capitals of the world, but this has not been the case with Gulf countries, such as the UAE," said Shantsev, who arrived in Dubai on March 27.
"But during the past 10 years, the flow of tourists from Russia into the UAE has grown immensely. Our statistical data shows that in the year 2000, nearly 200,000 tourists from Moscow and other Russian cities visited the UAE."
This phenomenon, which Shantsev terms "people diplomacy," has urged Moscow officials to take steps toward establishing formally with the UAE, the kind of contact it enjoys with other countries, where Russian cultural and trade-related events are held regularly – Albawaba.com
"We have also agreed to bring here an exhibition pertaining to high technology in the defence industry," Shantsev told Gulf News, before leaving for Bahrain "We agreed that a date would be set after we have sent a full description of the exhibition. It should materialise within the coming six months."
During his two-day visit, which was sponsored by Aeroflot, Shantsev met His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah, Khaled bin Sulayem, Director-General of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), Sulaiman Al Mazroui, Chief Manager, Emirates Bank International, and Abdullah Lootah of Emaar Properties.
