UAE to participate in 8th session of Kazan International Economic Summit

ABU DHABI, 18th May, 2016 (WAM) -- A UAE government delegation is set to participate in the 8th Kazan International Economic Summit between the Russian Federation and member countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, OIC, from 19th - 21st of May, in Kazan, the capital of Russia's Tatarstan Republic.

The UAE delegation will be headed by Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Saleh, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Economy for Foreign Trade and Industry, and will include representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Department of Economic Development - Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah Investment and Development Authority, Shurooq.

The Kazan Summit is an annual economic event that promotes economic cooperation and increased trade and investment opportunities among participants. This year's edition will be also held under the patronage of the President of the Republic of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, with the support of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, the government of the Republic of Tatarstan, and the Association of Regional Investment Agencies of Russia.

The agenda of the upcoming summit includes the 2nd Kazan OIC Youth Entrepreneurship Forum Educational Session, the Kazan Summit 2016 exhibition which will focus on special economic zones and innovative projects in the Russian Federation, an international conference on investment and innovation in the Halal food industry, a plenary session on the new global economic architecture, and a seminar on Islamic banking and finance highlighting innovative products and solutions. Various other events and meetings related to important economic issues of common interest are slated as well.

Al Saleh explained that the summit is an important opportunity for strengthening economic relations between OIC countries, including the UAE, and the regions and republics of the Russian Federation which are of significant economic importance.

"Kazan Summit provides an important platform to achieve economic integration and increase trade and investment, exchange experience and knowledge on modern economic practices, and take advantage of the potentials offered by the booming markets of the participating countries," he said.

The Under-Secretary added that economic relations between the UAE and Russia have developed remarkably in recent years, seeing the signing of several agreements for encouraging investment, avoiding double taxation, ensuring the peaceful use of nuclear energy, transferring technology, and sharing space expertise. He added that total foreign trade between the two countries reached around US$1.3 billion during the first nine months of 2015, with the UAE accounting for more than two-thirds of Gulf-Russian trade and investing US$18 billion in the Russian Federation.

Al Saleh commended the excellent bilateral relations between the UAE and the Republic of Tatarstan in particular, noting the launching of several joint initiatives and the signing of cooperative agreements in key areas such as real estate, agriculture, aviation, tourism, and information and communications technology.

He said that the UAE delegation is eager to exchange experiences on various economic fields with the participating delegations, with a particular focus on innovation-driven development and new technologies in the fields of agriculture, water, renewable energy, industry and small and medium-based enterprises, SMEs, that align with the country's UAE Vision 2021 and National Innovation Strategy agendas.

He emphasised that the summit will provide an opportunity for highlighting the economic importance of the UAE, its advanced infrastructure, encouraging legislative environment, and strategic location as a link between Russia, South Asia and North Africa. He also said that the UAE's success in Islamic economics and banking will be reviewed during the event. The state ranked first regionally and second internationally on the Global Islamic Economy Indicator included in the 3rd 'State of the Global Islamic Economy Report', SGIE 2015-2016, covering 73 countries.