The General Director of the INCONA company spoke live on the Tsargrad TV channel

On June 30, 2016, the General Director of INCONA spoke live on the Tsargrad TV channel. During the program «Real Time» Alexey Busev, who also holds the position of Chairman of the Commission for Foreign Economic Cooperation with Partners in the UAE of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry, answered questions concerning the main topic of the program: «Russia – the Gulf: a new stage of cooperation».

In his speech, Alexey Busev commented on various aspects of relations (mainly in the business sphere) between Russia and the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) (the GCC includes countries such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman). The expert spoke about the specifics of the GCC, which has some similarities with the EU, but only partially, since it is united by a single language, religion and traditions. The main players in this union are Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Although the trade turnover between Russia and the GCC is currently quite small ($4 billion per year), but Russia’s business relations with Middle Eastern partners have begun to develop actively relatively recently, show rapid dynamics and have significant prospects.

According to Alexey Busev, among the GCC countries, the UAE is of the greatest interest to Russia. Firstly, the Emirates claims to be the main player among the Gulf countries in terms of integration, development and cooperation with the rest of the world. Secondly, the UAE is the largest logistics point, the main trading hub of the Gulf. Moreover, the Emirates is the world’s largest hub, and the world’s largest sea and air ports are located in this country. Thirdly, the Emirates are a very successful example of the implementation of the current model of economic diversification. So, currently the share of the oil and gas sector in the GDP of this country is only 29%.

According to the General Director of INCONA, the trade turnover between Russia and the UAE in 2015 amounted to $2.5 billion. Of this volume, about 60% is the export of precious stones and metals from the Russian Federation. For its part, the business of the Emirates supplies to the Russian Federation mainly only ships, boats and other watercraft. At the same time, as the expert stressed, the situation has changed dramatically over the past year and a half. So, largely due to the devaluation of the ruble, the number of domestic companies wishing to enter the Emirates market has increased tenfold (these data are based on the number of appeals to the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry). Among the areas in which the domestic business is showing significant activity, the following can be distinguished: food, building materials (chemicals, varnishes, coatings, etc.), furniture, oil and gas equipment, chemistry, IT technologies (very active), security systems and even children’s toys. In addition, Russian business is very interested in attracting capital from Emirati financial institutions.

In conclusion of his speech, Alexey Busev positively assessed the efforts being made to develop cooperation between business in the Emirates and the Russian Federation. Among other things, this is manifested in the increased contacts at the level of relevant federal and regional departments and public organizations. In addition, the decision to establish a Trade representative Office of the Russian Federation in the UAE was very significant for the development of business relations.