The UAE-Armenia intergovernmental commission held its first meeting in Yerevan under the chairmanship of the Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, UAE Minister of State, and Vahagn Melikian, Secretary-General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia
YEREVAN, (Pakistan Point News - 04th May, 2019) The UAE-Armenia intergovernmental commission held its first meeting in Yerevan under the chairmanship of the Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, UAE Minister of State, and Vahagn Melikian, Secretary-General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia.
Al Sayegh stressed the importance of the visits and the numerous documents signed between both sides. In this regard, he acknowledged the visit of Armenian President Armen Sarkissian and his participation in the "Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week" forum.
He spoke about the visit of H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, to Yerevan in July 2017 which represented a milestone in the journey of bilateral relations.
Al Sayegh noted that the UAE is considered the eighth largest market, importing Armenian goods and 11 sources of Armenian investment all over the world.
In recent years, trade has increased significantly, especially between 2014 and 2017, with the annual growth rate touching 14 percent, while in 2017, the trade turnover increased by 78 percent compared to 2016.
The UAE’s entrepreneurs are interested in investing in Armenia, mainly in renewable energy, mining and agriculture, he stated while adding that tourism too had registered a rise with 11,134 tourists visiting Armenia last year.
While recognising the importance of the intergovernmental commission as a platform for discussion, Vahagn Melikyan said Armenia considers the UAE to be the crucial bridge between them and other GCC countries.
At the same time, he asked the UAE to consider Armenia as a gateway to the market of the Eurasian Economic Union and emphasised that there was immense potential for cooperation in tourism, trade, infrastructure, agricultural exports, food safety, and scientific technologies.
President of Armenia, Armen Sarkissian; Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan; Speaker of the Parliament, Ararat Mirzoyan; Foreign Minister, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, and Defence Minister, David Tonoyan, received the participants at the meeting.
During the meeting, two Memorandums of Understanding, MoUs, were signed between Armenpress and WAM, the UAE’s official news agency. The MoUs were signed by Mohammed Issa Al Qattam Al Zaabi, UAE Ambassador to the Republic of Armenia, and Aram Ananian, Director of the Armenian News Agency.
A number of other MoUs were also inked between the Abu Dhabi World Market and the Central Bank of Armenia and other Armenian institutions.
