Russia-UAE talks

With President of the UAE Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Photo: Kremlin.ru

Vladimir Putin held talks in the Kremlin with President of the United Arab Emirates Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who has come to Russia on an official visit, Kremlin informs.

The Kremlin, Moscow, January 29, 2026

The talks began in an expanded format with the participation of the two countries' delegations. They were followed by a one-on-one meeting between Vladimir Putin and Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in the format of an official breakfast.

The agenda of the talks covers key areas of multifaceted Russia-UAE cooperation, the current situation in the Middle East and other international issues.

An official welcoming ceremony for the President of the United Arab Emirates, led by the President of the Russian Federation and attended by members of the Russian and UAE delegations, was held in the St George Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace. The ceremony included posing for official photographs and the performance of the two states’ national anthems.

Beginning of Russia-UAE talks in the expanded format

President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Your Highness, my dear friend,

I am happy to see you in Moscow. I would like to extend my cordial greetings to you and to your representative delegation.

This year, we will mark 55 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries. We attach great value to your significant personal contribution to all spheres of the Russia-UAE strategic partnership, which is multifaceted, mutually beneficial and growing dynamically.

We have developed political dialogue at the level of our governments, parliaments, ministries and agencies, as well as between our business communities. We are fruitfully cooperating within the framework of multilateral formats. There is a long list of such organisations, from the UN to all the other widely used and effective multilateral formats.

The United Arab Emirates is our important trade partner in the Arab world. Our bilateral trade has been growing consistently. Our efficient intergovernmental commission last met in Dubai a month ago, simultaneously with the first Russia-Emirates Business Forum. We appreciate the high level of our investment cooperation. The Russian Direct Investment Fund and the Mubadala Foundation have implemented over 60 projects.

Our cooperation in technology and industry has advanced significantly. Russia’s high-tech company Yandex is promoting its services in the UAE market. A number of significant initiatives have been formulated in the sphere of energy.

Traditionally, we devote special attention to humanitarian contacts. In November, the United Arab Emirates hosted the Days of Russian Culture. Each year, the number of tourists from Russia visiting your country continues to grow: in the first nine months of 2025 alone, it reached 1.5 million people, an increase of 18 percent.

Cooperation in the fields of education and science is also developing productively. A Russia-UAE cooperation centre operates at the Primakov Gymnasium in the Moscow Region, which we visited together in 2024. Branches of this gymnasium, as well as of Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, are operating in the UAE. Plans are also in place to open a Russian university, along with a youth science park under the auspices of the Sirius Centre.

We congratulate you on the successful holding of the Games of the Future, the second international multisport tournament, which you hosted in Abu Dhabi in December, and thank you for supporting this Russian initiative. Our countries cooperated closely in preparing for these competitions.

We coordinate our efforts in key international issues, and our approaches largely coincide.

I would like to acknowledge the UAE efforts concerning the Ukraine crisis, including their contribution to making an exchange of detained persons possible, as well as their help in organising engagements in various venues on the Emirati soil.

We greatly appreciate this, Your Highness. We are personally grateful to you for facilitating the trilateral talks between working groups for security held last week in Abu Dhabi as well as for the attention paid to our delegation.

Our dialogue on developments in the Middle East also remains highly relevant. We have repeatedly discussed the situation in the area of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and our joint efforts to improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.

Of course, a fundamental issue is the resolution of the question of establishing a viable Palestinian state that would coexist in peace and security with Israel. This would make it possible to achieve a truly sustainable settlement and ensure long-term stability in the region. Naturally, we are all also closely following developments on the Iranian track.

I would like to discuss all these issues with you not only in this broad format, but also in a smaller, restricted setting.

During your visit in August 2025, we held in-depth talks here at the Kremlin, reviewing the progress of our bilateral cooperation and charting its future course.

Your Highness, I suggest we begin by allowing our colleagues to express their views on the most critical and sensitive issues for us. Afterwards, I would like to invite you to a working lunch for a more private discussion of these matters.

Thank you for your attention. Thank you.

Russia-UAE talks
Photo: Kremlin.ru

President of the United Arab Emirates Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (retranslated):

My dear brother, Mr President,

First of all, allow me to express my sincere pleasure at being here and to thank you once again for your exceptionally warm welcome and generous hospitality.

It is my sincere hope that 2026 will be a year of progress and growth for Russia, and a year of shared prosperity in our bilateral relations.

Mr President, relations between the United Arab Emirates and Russia are built upon a strong legacy of fruitful cooperation spanning more than five decades. Our countries are united by a partnership focused on sustainable development across a wide range of sectors, including the economy, energy, investment, trade, and technology. We are firmly committed to deepening these ties and to achieving our shared goals of development and partnership for the benefit of both our nations.

There is no doubt that the Services and Trade Agreement [Trade in Services and Investment Agreement] we signed last August will significantly enhance and expand mutual investment and trade between our two nations.

The same holds true for the Cooperation [Comprehensive Economic Partnership] Agreement between the UAE and the Eurasian Economic Union. We are confident it will serve to strengthen economic cooperation between our two countries.

Mr President, I would like to express my gratitude for your support of our efforts to facilitate the exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine. This remains a matter of the highest humanitarian importance.

Let me reiterate that the UAE fully supports all efforts aimed at finding political and diplomatic solutions to conflicts, solutions that will ultimately contribute to the establishment of peace and stability in the region and internationally.

In closing, I thank you again for this gracious welcome, and I extend my best wishes for the continued prosperity and progress of the Russian Federation.

Thank you very much, Mr President.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you very much.

With your permission, I suggest we now proceed according to the proposed format for our work.

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