Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy hailed the UAE for its “incredible efforts to fight coronavirus, not only at home but also abroad”.
He also thanked the UAE for sending an aid plane last April with medical supplies to help Ukraine in the fight against the virus.
“The UAE provided assistance to many countries around the world and Ukraine will not forget the Emirati airplane, which so timely and with friendly warmth delivered humanitarian aid to confront Covid-19 and the UAE helped many Ukrainians to get back home,” he said.
His comments came after he arrived on a visit to the UAE.
Mr Zelenskiy, 43, and his delegation were met at Abu Dhabi’s presidential flight terminal by Abdulla bin Touq, Minister of Economy.
Ukraine will not forget the Emirati airplane, which so timely and with friendly warmth delivered humanitarian aid to confront Covid-19
He is the youngest president in Ukraine’s history and had a previous career as a filmmaker and actor in which he played the role of president of Ukraine in a TV series.
Wam reported it was his first official visit to a Middle Eastern country.
Ties between the UAE and Ukraine are becoming stronger, especially in trade, tourism and technology.
More than 200 Ukrainian companies operate in the Emirates. Bilateral trade stood at $1.07 billion (Dh3.92bn) in 2019, and no fewer than 30 deals have been signed between the countries.
About 15,000 Ukrainians live in the UAE, and 250,000 people from the country visited the Emirates in 2019, benefitting from a streamlined visa regime.
“It is important that our citizens have the opportunity to pray and ask for God’s help in their native language in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in the UAE,” Mr Zelenskiy said, noting the UAE hosts the church.
He also also hailed the normalisation of ties between the UAE and Israel, praised the UAE’s successful Hope Mission to Mars and suggested Ukraine could be a important partner in addressing food security.
“Ukraine can and will be the guarantor of the food security of the Emirates ... we are among the world leaders in the export of wheat, corn and barley,” he said.
Ukrainian food exports to the UAE were valued at $252.2 million in 2019, and consisted chiefly of sunflower oil, rapeseed, eggs, poultry and wheat flour. Even the Ukraine pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai will represent the concept of food security.
“The architectural design of the pavilion embodies the idea of a wheat ear. Wheat is an important symbol for Ukrainians and the yellow colour on our flag symbolises the wheat field and readiness to contribute to world food security,” he said.
Co-operation could also extend to the defence sector. Ukraine will take part in the Idex defence trade fair, which will open in Abu Dhabi on February 21.
Ukraine is Europe’s second-largest country and is known for it fertile agricultural plains and heavy industry.
It is home to global companies such as Antonov, renowned for large cargo planes such as the An-225 Mriya.
Mr Zelensky was inaugurated in 2019. At the time, he said ending the insurgency in the east of the country would be his priority.
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
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What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
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