Salem Ahmed Alkaabi
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Arab Emirates to Ukraine
DOI https://doi.org/10.37837/2707-7683-2019-27
Abstract. The article examines the bilateral relations between Ukraine and the UAE as well as prospects of their development.
It comes as no surprise that nowadays these relations are flourishing and even have reached a strategic level. The introduction of the visa free regime for travels at the end of 2017 has had a significant impact on the state of bilateral relations. In the middle of August 2018, the third meeting of the Intergovernmental Ukrainian-UAE Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation was held in Kyiv. The upshot was that the bilateral trade turnover in goods and services for 2018 reached almost $1 billion and counting in 2019. The number of flights between the states has also shown an upward trend. It is stated that the participation of Ukrainian enterprises in the UAE exhibitions is the most significant factor for penetrating into the UAE market and facilitating the development of bilateral cooperation to reach the medium-term target of $2 billion of trade turnover.
It is mentioned that due to the efforts of both parties cultural cooperation between Ukraine and the UAE is now thriving. In April 2019, a delegation of 60 artists presented Ukrainian culture and traditions in the UAE in the course of Sharjah Heritage Days. The Embassy of the UAE in Ukraine has contributed to establishment of the Centre for Arabic Studies and Arabic Language at the Institute of International Relations of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Semen Kuznets Kharkiv National University of Economics, and Hennadii Udovenko Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. Mention is also made of the fact that Mr Ambassador became the winner of the 23rd Nationwide Programme ‘Person of the year 2018.’
The article concludes that the UAE pays equal attention to economic, cultural, and humanitarian interaction, whilst also remaining committed to cultivating it.
Key words: the UAE, bilateral relations, cultural cooperation, trade, the Embassy of the UAE to Ukraine.