OREANDA-NEWS  On 24 February was announced, that Belarus is ready to create most favourable conditions for investments from the United Arab Emirates, Belarusian Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky said as he met with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Arab Emirates to Belarus Mohammed Maer Abdullah Al Raisi in Minsk on February 20. “We are ready to create favourable conditions for investments from the United Arab Emirates in Belarus and set up best conditions for work,” Sergei Sidorsky said. UAE’s companies operate on the Belarusian market.

The government hopes that all these projects will become groundbreaking in the near future. According to Sergei Sidorsky, Belarus considers the United Arab Emirates as a strategic partner. The two countries have recently set up a good legal environment for business. At the same time, the trade between the two countries is not big and the number of tourists visiting Belarus is not high either, the Prime Minister noted.

The UAE is not going to give up investment projects in Belarus, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Arab Emirates to Belarus Mohammed Maer Abdullah Al Raisi said as he met with Prime Minister of Belarus Sergei Sidorsky.

The diplomat confirmed the determination of his country to develop investment cooperation with Belarus.

The Ambassador informed that the UAE companies are ready to launch the investment projects in Belarus. “Unfortunately, the investment has slowed down following the global financial and economic crisis, but all the selected projects will be implemented,” he added.

Mohammed Maer Abdullah Al Raisi underlined that despite the external shocks, Belarus managed to preserve political and economic stability. The diplomat admitted that the bilateral trade is insignificant, but expressed his hope that the trade between the two countries will be increased.

The United Arab Emirates is a major Belarus’ partner among the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf. The Belarusian exports to the UAE peaked in 2003 when they reached USD 37.3 million. In 2006 they exceeded USD 24 million, in 2007 they stood at USD 19.3 million, while the imports were USD 3.6 million. In 2008, the Belarusian exports to the UAE made up USD 17.6 million, the imports USD 3.8 million. The major Belarusian exports were truck tractors, bearings, petroleum products, tyres. In 2008, Belarus posted a trade surplus of USD 13.8 million.

In 2007, the UAE investments worth USD 0.5 million were attracted in the Belarusian economy. Approximately the same amount of investments was put in the country’s economy in the previous years. In 2008, the Emirati investments amounted to USD 1.6 million, half of which were direct investments.