UAE and Ukraine to collaborate on four industrial sectors to boost trade

The Ukrainian president's visit earlier this month led to the signing of 28 agreements

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Wam

The UAE and Ukraine plan to collaborate in four important sectors as they look to boost their non-oil trade to more than $806 million.

The two sides will chart a road map for co-operation in sectors such as food and agriculture, infrastructure and heavy industry, aviation, space, information technology and telecoms, as well as military and defence spending.

The sectors were identified after the formation of the first UAE and Ukraine Joint Co-operation Committee, chaired by Mariam Al Mheiri, Minister of State for Food Security, and Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president’s office.

“Enhancing the UAE’s relationship with Ukraine forms an important part of the UAE government’s foreign policy objectives, with our aim being to increase our non-oil bilateral trade from the existing $806m in a robust and systematic approach,” said Ms Al Mheiri.

The meeting came after President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Abu Dhabi earlier this month, which resulted in a number of business deals between the two countries.

UAE defence conglomerate Edge signed an agreement worth more than $1 billion with state-owned Ukrainian companies Ukroboronprom and Ukrspecexport.

Mr Zelensky’s visit also led to the signing of 28 agreements in sectors such as food security, artificial intelligence and tourism.

The two countries also have a mutual visa-waiver agreement.

More than 200 Ukrainian companies operate in the Emirates.

Trade stood at $1.07bn (Dh3.92bn) in 2019, and about 30 deals have been signed between the two countries.

Ukrainian food exports to the UAE have also increased and were valued at $252.2m in 2019.

They consisted chiefly of sunflower oil, rapeseed, eggs, poultry and wheat flour.

The Ukraine pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai will represent the concept of food security.

The two sides have a double taxation treaty and an investment protection and promotion agreement.

Both Kiev and Abu Dhabi are expected to develop a detailed plan to continue their work in the highlighted industrial ­sectors.

Diplomatic ties between the UAE and Ukraine and other former Soviet states are warm.

Last April, the UAE sent a plane with medical supplies to help Kiev contain the Covid-19 pandemic.

The UAE is also engaged in developing clean energy resources in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan – Ukraine’s neighbours.

Last week, Abu Dhabi’s ­renewable energy company Masdar and Kazakh sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna signed an agreement to jointly explore clean energy opportunities.

Masdar, which has a growing presence in the Commonwealth of Independent States region, is also helping the government of Uzbekistan chart a sustainable recovery after Covid-19 by helping to instal about 1 gigawatt of renewable energy capacity.

Meanwhile, the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development signed a series of agreements with Turkmenistan to form a joint venture to assess the feasibility of developing a chemical complex earlier this month.

In November, an ADFD-owned entity, Abu Dhabi Uzbek Investment Company, signed an agreement with DP World to explore investment opportunities in the transport and logistics sector in Uzbekistan.