Moldovan PM, his counterpart from United Arab Emirates confirm interest in developing bilateral economic relations

Chisinau, 30 January /MOLDPRES/ - Prime Minister Pavel Filip, within his official visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), today had a meeting with Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, ruler of the Emirate of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The officials appreciated the recent boosting of the political and institutional relations between the two states, the government’s communication and protocol department has reported.    
In particular, Pavel Filip expressed gratitude to the UAE side for the support provided for the creation of Moldova’s Embassy in the Emirates, headquartered in Abu Dhabi and of a General Consulate in the Dubai city. The PM confirmed also the openness for the providing of every support for the inauguration of a diplomatic mission of the United Arab Emirates in Moldova.     
At the same time, Pavel Filip said the Moldovan authorities wanted removal of   visas for Moldova’s citizens visiting the United Arab Emirates. In the context, the Moldovan PM said that, in March 2017, Moldova had abolished the visa regime for the UAE citizens, stressing willingness to cancel visas for the residents of this country too. For his part, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum  said possibilities to annul visas for Moldovan diplomats were presently studied, after which this process is to be extended for the citizens of Moldova as well.   
Another subject of common interest is the operation of direct flights between Moldova and the United Arab Emirates. In this respect, the officials welcomed the resumption of the flights between Chisinau and Dubai in last November, as well as the interest of air operators, including low cost ones, to launch such flights. Thus, the Fly Dubai Company showed interest in launching direct Dubai-Chisinau flights as of March 2018.   
The officials said that these measures would foster the relations between business people, would increase the direct investments, as well as the bilateral trade exchanges. In the context, Prime Minister Pavel Filip invited companies from Emirates to participate in the process of privatization in Moldova, noting that the Moldovan authorities were interested in increasing investments in the sectors of aviation, IT, agriculture and the one of financial services. In this respect, the sides agreed on the organization of business forums in UAE and Moldova.   
Also, the officials exchanged opinions on Moldova’s participation in the Dubai Expo2020 Exhibition, as well as concerning the organization of an investment forum titled, Discover Moldovan Investment Opportunities, in UAE in 2018.