Thursday, July 9 2020 20:24

ArmInfo. Prime Minister Nikol  Pashinyan received Mohamed AlZaabi, Ambassador Extraordinary and  Plenipotentiary of the United Arab Emirates to the Republic of  Armenia, who is completing his diplomatic mission in our country, the  press service of the Armenian PM informs.

The Prime Minister said the Ambassador's tenure was marked by  effective cooperation between Armenia and the UAE. Nikol Pashinyan  stressed that the Armenian government is interested in UAE's reform  experience. "We hope that in the near future Armenia will become even  more attractive to your country's business circles, which in turn  will help us implement various investment projects," the Prime  Minister said, highlighting the contribution made by the  Intergovernmental Economic Commission, which held its first meeting  last spring in Yerevan.

The Premier highlighted the fact of high-level bilateral political  relations and thanked the UAE side for its balanced position on the  Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The Prime Minister also thanked the UAE  government for supporting Armenia in the fight against COVID-19 and  expressed confidence that the pandemic would be overcome through  close cooperation.  In turn, Mohamed AlZaabi thanked Prime Minister  Pashinyan and the Armenian government for effective cooperation,  noting that he would continue to maintain close ties with Armenia and  the Armenian people. The Ambassador said he was impressed by those  ambitious reforms implemented by the Armenian government's young  members that led to several positive results over the past one year.

According to Mohamed AlZaabi, bilateral trade and economic relations,  as well as tourism saw tangible growth last year. Mr. Zaabi stressed  that the UAE government, too, is keen to develop multifaceted  cooperation with Armenia in agriculture, healthcare, food security,  tourism, air communications and other spheres of mutual interest. The  Ambassador noted that the UAE will continue to implement charitable  programs in Armenia. He praised the charity projects carried out  under Anna Hakobyan's guidance.

The parties expressed confidence that the two governments will be  able to bolster the ongoing interaction through joint efforts after  the global pandemic.  It should be noted that according to the RA  Statistical Committee, the foreign trade turnover between the RA and  the UAE in January-May 2020 amounted to $ 71.6 million, which is  30.8% higher than the annual indicator. At the same time, exports  grew 2.5 -fold, amounting to $ 64.7 million, while imports fell by  75.8% to $ 6.9 million.