Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed meets Ukrainian president in Abu Dhabi

Volodymyr Zelensky landed in the UAE on Saturday for his first official visit

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed meets Volodymyr Zelensky in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. Rashed Al Mansoori / Ministry of Presidential Affairs

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, meets the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, on Sunday. Courtesy: Volodymyr Zelensky, Twitter

Mariam Al Mehairi, UAE Minister of State for Food Security, and Abdulla Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy, attend a meeting with the Ukrainian president. Rashed Al Mansoori / Ministry of Presidential Affairs

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed meets Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, on Sunday. Rashed Al Mansoori / Ministry of Presidential Affairs

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed meets Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, on Sunday. Mohamed Al Hammadi / Ministry of Presidential Affairs

Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, attend a meeting between Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and Volodymyr Zelensky in Abu Dhabi. Mohamed Al Hammadi / Ministry of Presidential Affairs

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, met the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, on Sunday.

The two had an outdoor meeting at Qasr Al Watan in Abu Dhabi, during Mr Zelensky's first official visit to the UAE.

"It was a pleasure to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Abu Dhabi," Sheikh Mohamed said.

"We examined the special relationship between our nations and how it can be further developed."

The pair discussed regional and international issues of common interest, Sheikh Mohamed said.

These included furthering ties and investments in both countries. Both sides discussed co-operation in technological, economic, commercial and development fields, as well as the latest news regarding the Covid-19 outbreak.

Mr Zelensky, 43, shared an image of himself with Sheikh Mohamed on Twitter, saying: "Enjoyed our meeting with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed. There are warm friendly contacts between our people. We will bring economic and political relations between our countries to a new high-quality level."

He congratulated the UAE on the Hope probe's successful entry into the orbit of Mars, saying the achievement would benefit the international scientific community.

The president landed in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, when he welcomed by Abdulla bin Touq, Minister of Economy.

Mr Zelensky is the youngest president in Ukraine’s history and had a previous career as a filmmaker and actor, in which he played the role of president of Ukraine in a TV series.

Ties between the UAE and Ukraine are becoming stronger, especially in trade, tourism and technology.

More than 200 Ukrainian companies operate in the Emirates. Bilateral trade stood at $1 billion (Dh3.6bn) in 2019, and 30 deals have been signed between the countries.

About 15,000 Ukrainians live in the UAE, and 250,000 people from the country visited the Emirates in 2019, benefitting from a streamlined visa regime.