UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Armenia’s President His Excellency Vahagn Khachaturyan, recently held a meeting to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation between the two nations, especially in the economic and investment fields.
During the meeting, which took place at Qasr Al Bahr in Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed welcomed the Armenian President, who is on a working visit to the UAE, and expressed his best wishes for continued stability and prosperity for Armenia and its people.
Armenia seeks stronger relationship across all areas of cooperation
The two sides exchanged views on a number of regional and international issues of mutual interest. In this context, Sheikh Mohamed expressed his hope that the recent announcement by Armenia and Azerbaijan on the successful conclusion of peace negotiations would contribute to strengthening stability and security, and to fostering development and prosperity for their peoples and for the broader Caucasus region.
For his part, the President of Armenia thanked Sheikh Mohamed for his continued support in strengthening the constructive partnership between the two countries and promoting their shared interests. He reaffirmed a shared commitment to deepening this growing relationship across all areas of cooperation.
During his visit, the President of Armenia, accompanied by Karen Grigorian, the Ambassador of Armenia to the UAE, and the accompanying delegation, visited the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi.
UAE emerges as Armenia’s top GCC trade partner
Diplomatic relations between Armenia and the UAE were established on June 25, 1998, and the Armenian Embassy in Abu Dhabi was established in 2000. Since then, the two countries have expanded their economic cooperation, signing several agreements in key sectors.
The UAE now tops the list of the largest exporting and importing countries in Armenia, being the 8th largest export market for Armenian products and the 11th largest source of Armenian imports worldwide. The non-oil trade between the UAE and Armenia amounted to nearly $1.53 billion in 2022, with a 673 percent growth compared to 2021. The UAE’s non-oil exports to Armenia totaled $229 million in 2022, with a growth rate of 245 percent compared to 2021.
In addition, the UAE is Armenia’s number one GCC trade partner as of 2021, as it accounted for 90 percent of Armenia’s total trade with the bloc. The UAE also ranked second among Armenia’s Arab trade partners in 2021.
As for investments, total Armenian FDI in the UAE reached $32 million by the beginning of 2021, while the UAE’s investments in Armenia exceeded $35 million in 2021, mostly in agriculture, food security and real estate sectors.
Last year, the UAE also successfully concluded negotiations with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) aimed at reaching a comprehensive economic partnership agreement to enhance bilateral trade in goods between the UAE and the five members of the EAEU bloc, which comprise Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia.
