Yesterday evening Russian President Vladimir Putin held a relaxed informal working dinner with United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at Putin’s personal residence in Moscow. The U.A.E. President met with Putin prior to the official state visit which began today, and prior to tomorrow’s official opening of the BRICS summit in Kazan. The U.A.E. was one of the new members that joined the BRICS on Jan. 1 of this year and Sheikh Mohammed has developed an extremely close personal relationship with Putin, with whom he has met three times. According to the Kremlin website the two had a very productive discussion, covering a range of topics, including their bilateral relationship and strategic partnership and the “complicated” situation in Southwest Asia.
Putin’s meeting with Sheikh Mohammed at his Novo-Ogaryovo residence was very friendly, including a discussion of current and future relations, the situation in Southwest Asia and North Africa. Of note, trade between the two countries has tripled over the past three years. Putin thanked Sheikh Mohammed for coming to the informal dinner where they could talk in a more relaxed environment. They discussed mutual investments, which stand at $7 billion, with about 60 projects in the range of $2 billion being implemented through sovereign funds. The Emirati President stressed the importance of their personal relationship in helping to resolve any issues between them.
