ABU DHABI, 22 December (BelTA) – Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko met with President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan on 22 December, BelTA has learned.
“I am very happy that we’ve managed to meet,” the UAE president welcomed his Belarusian counterpart.
Most of the meeting took place without mass media presence. Reporters managed to take only a few photos for the protocol due to the local traditions.
In particular, Aleksandr Lukashenko talked about his meeting with Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi, UAE Minister of Investment, Managing Director of the investment fund ADQ. “The minister gave me a serious introduction to artificial intelligence. I’ve learned a lot of new things. We will think together how we will find contact points,” he remarked.
The Belarusian head of state also mentioned his working visit to Oman prior to the arrival in the UAE. “We’ve just been to Oman. The visit had been planned a very long time ago,” he said.
During the working visit of Aleksandr Lukashenko to the UAE attention was mainly paid to continuing and advancing cooperation in trade, economy, investment, humanitarian affairs, and other spheres of mutual interest.
The meeting of the presidents lasted for more than an hour. Afterwards Mohamed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan personally escorted Aleksandr Lukashenko to the aircraft’s stairs. The leaders of the countries said warm farewells. “You should definitely come! We have something to talk about,” the Belarus president extended an invitation.
BelTA reported earlier that the head of state arrived in the UAE on a working visit on 18 December. At the airport he held negotiations with UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi.
Aleksandr Lukashenko mentioned the intention to discuss a number of matters concerning Belarus-UAE relations and meet with the investors, who work in Belarus and invest in the country’s economy.
Interaction in the field of high technologies was the main topic of the next day. Close attention was paid to the field of artificial intelligence, which has been rapidly developing across the globe for the last few years. These matters were discussed as Aleksandr Lukashenko met with Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi, UAE Minister of Investment, Managing Director of the investment fund ADQ. By the way, the head of state admitted that his meetings in the UAE in past years had a lot to do with Belarus’ many successful endeavors in the field of high technologies.
Aleksandr Lukashenko also held negotiations with top executives of the companies operating in the field of high technologies, including artificial intelligence.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a long-term partner of Belarus in the Middle East. The relations date back for decades. The Belarusian leader’s visit to the Emirates in March 2007 was a significant one for the development of bilateral relations. Back then the countries demonstrated at the top level the readiness to substantially expand bilateral interaction and step up cooperation in many spheres. “This country has become a springboard for a great deal of companies, which are eager to sell their goods in this rich region. This is why it is also very interesting for us. You know, I didn’t come here alone. I’ve brought a huge landing party of our entrepreneurs and heads of state, who took care of negotiations here in the Emirates. They explored opportunities. I think that after this we will also use this country more broadly in order to promote our economic interests and specifically sell our goods via the chain that has been set up in the Arab Emirates at the state level,” the head of state told reporters in an interview back then.
Follow us on:
