The Roscongress Foundation and Lomonosov Moscow State University have prepared a joint analytical report entitled “Russia and the UAE: Paths for Technological Cooperation,” timed to coincide with the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2023) at which the United Arab Emirates is the guest country. The report examines key areas of cooperation between United Arab Emirates and Russia in technology: space technology, energy, medical and digital technology, and agriculture.
Bilateral economic cooperation is increasing both in terms of production volumes and in terms of the number of industries involved. The last few years have seen consistent growth in trade. At the end of 2021, the UAE ranked first among Middle Eastern countries in terms of trade with Russia, with the volume of trade reaching a historic high of $5.4 billion.
The bulk of Russian exports to the UAE in 2021 comprised oil products, precious stones and metals, pharmaceutical products, ferrous metals, equipment and vehicles. UAE exports to Russia included plastics, energy equipment, precious stones and metals, foodstuffs and chemical products. International cooperation between them as two oil-producing powers dates back more than fifty years.
These days, the two countries are interested in the qualitative and quantitative development of cooperation in science and technology. In the current geopolitical environment, the Russian economy offers unique opportunities for investment and business, and the UAE’s development strategy is focused on international projects to achieve its long-term goals. Cooperation in the field of innovation stimulates the development of large-scale projects, allowing them to establish themselves as leaders on the global market.
United Arab Emirates is the guest sponsor of this year’s exhibition. President Vladimir Putin has sent his greetings to the participants, organizers, and guests of the 26th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. The theme of this year’s Forum is ‘Sovereign Development as the Basis of a Just World: Joining Forces for Future Generations’.
Putin emphasized it is vital to make the most of the opportunities that are presenting themselves in the global economy and to focus on attaining technological and financial sovereignty, forging strong ties, developing optimal logistics routes, improving infrastructure and tackling inequality and poverty.
Putin also mentioned boosting the labour market as one of the priorities: “In order to achieve this, there needs to be a close partnership between the state and the business community, particularly with regard to introducing lean manufacturing technology and modernizing enterprises. And of course, more work is needed to optimize professional training and retraining programmes and improve the national employment service.”
Russian president expressed his confidence that the forum would continue to help attain global economic objectives and serve as an example of constructive dialogue that leads to results. To realize this potential and develop new areas of partnership, the UAE was selected as the guest country at SPIEF 2023, planned from 14–17 June in St. Petersburg.