Abu Dhabi, 14 May 2017: The UAE will be participating in the 9th International Economic Summit in Kazan to be held in the Republic of Tatarstan from May 18 to 20, 2017 along with countries of the Russian Federation and Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. The UAE delegation will be headed by H.E. Rashid bin Fahd, Minister of State, and will include H.E. Abdullah Al Saleh, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy for Foreign Trade and Industry Affairs, along with officials and representatives of various federal and local authorities.

The Kazan summit is a leading international platform for facilitating economic dialogue between Russian and Islamic states. Over the past eight years, the summit has developed an advanced mechanism for discussing and exchanging information and opportunities on aspects of cooperation, joint investment, and project development.

H.E. bin Fahd looks forward to participating in the summit, highlighting key issues, and contributing to the diversity of the event’s outputs. He also anticipates productive bilateral talks between the UAE and the Russian Federation that will further deepen their economic ties and open up discussions on several areas for future cooperation.

For his part, H.E. Al Saleh emphasized the distinguished model of economic partnership linking the UAE and the Russian Federation, specifically the Republic of Tatarstan. He noted that the UAE is considered as one of Russia's major trading partners in the region, and pointed out marked improvements in the volume of their mutual investments.

He added that the total volume of non-oil foreign trade between the two countries reached around USD 2.5 billion in 2015, and USD 1.6 billion during the first nine months of 2016. He said that the figures can be further improved on in the coming years in light of the joint efforts and mutual desire of their countries to secure bilateral cooperation in various economic fields.

The Kazan Economic Summit is witnessing significant growth, with its 2016 attendance comprising more than 1,500 participants inclusive of government officials, representatives of international organizations, and investors and entrepreneurs from the Russian Federation and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries. 

The latest edition will be held under the theme ‘Islamic Investments in the Context of International Economic Relations.’ Among the events to feature at the summit are an ‘Expo Investment’ exhibition which will provide a wide range of information on the infrastructure and capabilities of economic zones in the Russian Federation, development projects, finance firms, and large industrial companies. It will also review the investment capabilities of other Russian regions.