Russia, UAE eye further cooperation, investment

Cooperation between Russia and the United Arab Emirates has been developed successfully, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday. During his meeting with visiting crown prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Putin hailed the thriving trade and economic ties between the two sides. "Relations between our countries are developing successfully, and our trade turnover is growing. We maintain constant contacts at political level, and some of our companies implement large joint projects," Putin said. The multi-layer cooperation covers a number of industries, which includes energy, metallurgy, construction industry and infrastructure projects, Putin added. Meanwhile, the Russian president stressed the importance of mutual investment and military-technical cooperation. "What is very important is that investment cooperation is expanding in both directions. Such a sensitive field of interaction as military-technological cooperation is also developing," Putin said. Al Nahyan said he was glad to visit Russia, which was "his second homeland." The country's presence in Russia showed its willingness to further promote bilateral ties between Moscow and Abu Dhabi, he said. In 2011, trade between Russia and the UAE amounted to 1.5 billion U.S. dollars. Emirates also invested nearly 254 million dollars in the Russian economy, while Russian investment in the UAE exceeded 187 million dollars. Putin visited the UAE in September 2007, becoming the first Russian leader travelling to the Emirates after the Gulf country's independence in 1971.