Recently, agreement on cooperation between one of the biggest emirates and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has been signed. In the course of the talks the sides have reached mutual understanding pertaining to the key issues; the major topic was large-scale investments in the development of infrastructure in Russia. Department of Finance in Abu Dhabi plans to invest in road building and other major projects. During the talks with royal prince Mohammed Al Nahyan, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin underlined the historical and political importance of the document. Great possibilities open up in the sphere of investment cooperation and he says ‘I’m very glad to point out your arrangement with the Russian Direct Investment Fund about cooperative work and possible investment in this work up to $5 billion.’ The major share of investment will be directed to construction of roads, airports and seaports. These are not the first steps on implementation of the Fund’s plans to attract investments from the Middle East; in summer it was decided to form investment fund with Mubadala Development Company from Abu Dhabi; both partners allocated $1 billion. Russia intends to maintain links with the Middle Eastern countries and underlines the importance and profit for the participants. In his turn, Al Nahyan thanked for the possibility to ‘build a new bridge for relations with Russia’. ‘We are completely sure about your market and trust it; that is why today we are in your country. We hope the investment project will be successfully fulfilled and our cooperation will expand,’ Al Nahyan said.
