Putin's visit to UAE will benefit expat community

The 100,000-strong Russian expat community in the UAE is euphoric about the visit of their President to the UAE after a gap of 12 years. Many said they were optimistic the high-level visit would boost economic and cultural ties between the two countries and benefit Russian expatriates.

Vladmir Putin will arrive in the UAE on Tuesday, October 15.

"It is very symbolic that the visit of President Putin coincided with the honouring of the UAE's first astronaut Hazzaa AlMansoori, who also returned from Russia, after his historic mission at the International Space Station," said Egor Sharay, editor of the Russian edition of Concierge Magazine.

Sharay said it illustrates how productive joint efforts can be whether it is space, science, culture or economics. "It is encouraging that in recent years, cooperation between the UAE and Russia has been positive. Most importantly, a friendly dialogue has developed between the countries."

More than 3,000 Russian companies are registered in the country. Mutual trade turnover last year amounted to $1.7 billion.

Olga Gafurova, lifestyle editor of Aviamost Magazine (Russian edition), said Putin's visit will contribute to further consolidating the current strategic partnership between the UAE and Russia.

"Going by the latest figures, more than 900,000 Russian tourists visited the UAE last year, and the number of Emiratis travelling to Russia is increasing. The trade between the UAE and Russia reached Dh12.5 billion last year. All of this shows the importance of further consolidating and developing the strategic relation between the two countries," said Gafurova.