Within President Serzh Sargsyan's working visit to the United Arab Emirates on March 22, under the high patronage of Serzh Sargsyan, President of the Republic of Armenia, and the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan the UAE – Armenia Investment Forum 2017 was organized at Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi, UAE.

The forum is called to boost economic relations between Armenia and Arab states, encourage contacts between the entrepreneurs, present the investment climate in Armenia and mutually beneficial investments projects in different areas.

The forum brought together around three hundred participants including governmental officials, heads of international organizations and institutional funds, top executives from multinational corporations, as well as representatives of companies with foreign investments established in Armenia.

More than 120 representatives from Armenian side and representatives over 100 companies from the UAE attended the UAE – Armenia Investment Forum.

During the Forum the Minister of Economic Development and Investments Suren Karayan had a series of meetings with representatives of the business communities of the two countries. As a result a number of agreements were reached.

Within the framework of the Forum the Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Investments of RA Hovhannes Azizyan met the representatives of the World Organization of free economic zones.

During the conference, KPMG presented a favorable investment environment of Armenia, as well as presentations on agriculture and animal husbandry, energy, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, IT & Engineering, tourism and real estate, success stories of foreign companies operating in Armenia, as well as a number of investment projects.

The Chairperson of the State Committee for Tourism Zarmine Zeitountsian gave a presentation on the development of Armenia’s tourism and hospitality industry, its legislative reforms and investment opportunities. It was noted that the number of UAE tourists arriving in Armenia has increased threefold in 2016, compared to the previous two years. Tourists visiting Armenia enjoy the country’s favorable climatic conditions, clean air, green landscapes, a safe environment, modern evening entertainment venues, and centuries-old history.

The Armenia-UAE investment forum was concluded with B2B meetings between potential investors and entrepreneurs aimed at developing further economic cooperation between Armenia and Arab countries.

The Arab and Armenian businessmen representing the agriculture, energy, pharmaceuticals, IT, tourism and real estate sectors have established new business contacts.

During the conference a number of memorandums were signed.

Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the RA Ministry of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources and the UAE Company. The same Company signed Cooperation agreement with the Union of small hydropower plants. "Tamara" company signed a Memorandum with his UAE counterpart.

The Armenian-Emirates investment forum gave new impetus to the business communities of the two countries.