President Armen Sarkissian's working visit to the United Arab Emirates

President Armen Sarkissian has arrived to the United Arab Emirates on a working visit. Today, in Abu Dhabi he was present at the official agreement signing ceremony between the Masdar company and the Armenian National Interests Fund (ANIF) for the joint development.

According to the agreement, solar energy projects of 400 megawatt general capacity will be developed in Armenia and investments over 300 million USD will be made. The first project envisaged by the agreement relates to the construction in the western part of Armenia of the solar photovoltaic stations of 200 megawatt general capacity.
After the signing ceremony, which took place at New York University of Abu Dhabi, President Sarkissian had a meeting with the Executive Director of the Mubadala investment company Khaldoon Al Mubadarak and Minister of Energy and Industry Suhail Al Mazroui.

“Recently, the relations between our two countries have moved forward considerably thanks to your efforts. You have a great input in the advancement of our relations, and today we cooperate in the atmosphere of trust and mutual understanding,” Khaldoon Al Mubadarak said addressing the President of Armenia. He added that there are only few presidents in the world who are capable of conducting such a multidimensional policy and know well how economy works.

The Director of ANIF David Papazian thanked the President for assistance. “We used the opportunity which President Sarkissian opened during his visit to the UAE last January. As a result, high quality and competitive partners will come to Armenia with an excellent proposal. We are planning to have in Armenia the second energy station which will match the capacity of the existing nuclear power station and will work on renewable energy sources,” he said.

The President hailed the accomplished works and noted that this cooperation establishes a good base for a broader cooperation.

“This is only the beginning of a long journey. Together we can do much more. We need to work harder and we will have good results which will benefit you as well as Armenia,” the President of Armenia said. “Armenia has beautiful nature and we have to be very careful with our nature. Energy production and mining are industries which we have to be very careful about. I believe this cooperation will be successful not only in making Armenia greener but will also be useful in making Armenia’s energy system more balanced.”

At the same time President Sarkissian suggested to view Armenia as a platform for entering the big market of the Eurasian Economic Union. He expressed hope that the results of the meetings earlier this year and this one would promote the development of Armenia-UAE relations.

President Sarkissian was present also at the Mubadala business forum held in New York University of Abu Dhabi and had a brief conversation with the President and Executive Director of Siemens Joe Kaeser.

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President Armen Sarkissian, who is in the United Arab Emirates on a working visit, had today a working meeting with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Commander in Chief of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and National Security Advisor to the President of UAE Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

At the meeting discussed were opportunities for expanding Armenia-UAE relations. It was noted that various areas hold great potential for cooperation. Among the promising areas of cooperation were mentioned in particular areas of information and high technologies, food security, tourism, real estate and some others.

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President Armen Sarkissian, who is in UAE on a working visit, met in Abu Dhabi with the COO of the Spanish Telefonica company Ancel Vila Boix. The company is one of the largest in the area of telecommunications.

Telefonica provides services for fixed and mobile phones, internet and data communication in 24 countries and has 350 million customers.

The parties discussed a wide range of issues of mutual interest. President Sarkissian presented competitive advantages of Armenia and opportunities and noted that in the technological area our country moves steadily forward.

The COO of Telefonica said that they would examine the opportunities of cooperation with Armenia, particularly in the area of Cloud technologies, and would soon present their proposals.

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In the framework of his working visit to the United Arab Emirates, President Armen Sarkissian met with Joe Kaeser, the CEO of Siemens - one of the world’s largest technological companies.

The interlocutors discussed the prospects of implementing joint programs in the areas of modern technologies, artificial intelligence, and electrical power management. An agreement was reached to form in near future working groups to study opportunities of broad cooperation in the mentioned areas.

They also discussed opportunities of implementing joint programs in the areas of science and education, of experience exchange as well as looked into the opportunities for cooperation in the framework of the Presidential ATOM (Advanced Tomorrow) initiative which is aimed at the development of modern technologies in Armenia.

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In the framework of his working visit to UAE, President Armen Sarkissian met with the Minister of State for Food Security Mariam Al Muhairi.

The Minister presented to President Sarkissian the UAE concept for food security and experience as well as the steps undertaken in the UAE toward the development of the area.

Stressing the importance of developing food security structures in Armenia, President Sarkissian noted that it is necessary to work together and utilize existing great potential.
An agreement was reached in the framework of the meeting to undertake steps to make Armenia a regional platform for food security. In this context, the parties discussed the necessity of signing a pertinent agreement between the governments of Armenia and UAE.

President Sarkissian invited the UAE Minister of State to Armenia to discuss once again the forthcoming programs as well as to see firsthand the competitive opportunities of our country. 

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In the framework of his visit to the United Arab Emirates, President Armen Sarkissian held meetings with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Emirate Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Advisor to the President of UAE on Security Issues Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of UAE, Minister on Presidential Issues Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Council of Abu Dhabi Emirate Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, as well as the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Defense Sheikh Mohammed bin Salman Al Saudi, other officials and entrepreneurs and discussed the prospects and opportunities of expanding the bilateral cooperation.

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President Armen Sarkissian, who is in the United Arab Emirates on a working visit, met in Abu Dhabi with the representatives of the Armenian community. Present at the meeting was also the Prelate of the Armenian Diocese in the UAE and Qatar His Grace Ter Bishop Mesrop Sargsyan.

President Sarkissian informed briefly about the meetings he has had during the visit and reached agreements. He also spoke about the opportunities for developing the Armenia-UAE friendly relations.

The President also responded to the questions from the audience.

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President Armen Sarkissian, who is at the United Arab Emirates on a working visit, along with the highest leadership of the country in Abu Dhabi was present at the official ceremony dedicated to the National holiday of the UAE. The event was held under the auspices of the President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan.