The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry discussed the ways of developing relations, cooperation and communication with the Embassy of Armenia to the UAE in order to enhance the opportunities of trade and investment between the business communities in Sharjah and Armenia.

The meeting that took place recently at SCCI was attended by H.E Sheikh Fahim bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Executive Chairman of the Department of Government Relations, H.E Abdallah Sultan Al Owais, Chairman of SCCI, and H.E Gegham Gharibjanian, Ambassador of Armenia to the UAE, to discuss ways of benefitting from investment opportunities available to private sector companies in both countries.

The meeting was also attended by H.E Waleed AbdelRahman BuKhatir, Second Vice Chairman of SCCI and H.E Saif Mohammed Al-Midfa, CEO of Expo Centre Sharjah to further develop relations between SCCI and the Embassy, as well as enhancing the economic relations between the businessmen in Sharjah and their Armenian counterparts through exchange of visits and delegations in the coming period.

H.E Abdallah Sultan Al Owais praised the level of bilateral relations between UAE and Armenia which is continuously seeing development and growth thanks to the support provided by the leaderships of both friendly countries, specially after the decision of exempting the citizens of both countries from prior visas that took place in March.

Al Owais stressed the keenness of SCCI to develop trade relations with Armenia and to create investment partnerships between the business communities in Sharjah and its Armenian counterpart that will

serve the mutual interest of both countries through increasing trade in several sectors.

Al Owais also urged the Armenian Ambassador to encourage the business community in his country to pay a visit to the emirate of Sharjah to see the economic advantages and investment opportunities closely and to witness the facilities provided by the government to foreign investors as well as private sector companies. he also said that SCCI is ready to support all Armenian businessmen who are willing to have investment projects in Sharjah.

H.E Gharibjanian expressed his country’s desire to strengthen relations with UAE at all levels. He also focused on the importance of this meeting which will enhance trade and investment between Armenia and Sharjah in the near future through developing cooperation between the Embassy of Armenia to the UAE and SCCI. During the meeting he was briefed about the most important economic events and activities that will be hosted by Expo Centre Sharjah, The ideal platform for entering and expanding regional markets. Both sides also agreed to boost communication, exchange of visits and delegations in the coming period.

It’s important to mention, the trade exchange between UAE and Armenia has witnessed a remarkable development in the past few years. The total non-oil foreign trade between both countries reached about 102 million dollars in 2015 and 88.3 million dollars during the first nine months of 2016.