The Russian delegation, led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Sergey Levin, took part in the 25th Gulfood 2020 Exhibition of Food, Drinks, Equipment for Hotel, Restaurant Business and Gastronomy in the United Arab Emirates. Our country presented at the exhibition an exposition with the participation of more than 40 companies from various regions of Russia, demonstrating a wide range of domestic agricultural products.

On the sidelines of the exhibition, the Deputy Minister held bilateral meetings with the UAE Minister of Climate and Environment Changes Tani al-Zeyudi and the UAE Minister of Food Security Mariam Mheiri, during which he discussed the prospects for further development of bilateral agricultural cooperation and increased exports of Russian agricultural products and food to the Gulf countries and the African continent.

According to Sergey Levin, Russian-Emirate cooperation in the agricultural sector over the years has been positive. “Gulf countries today account for 7% of Russian agricultural exports totaling $ 1.7 billion. Last year, the supply of agricultural products to the UAE increased by 12% to $ 245 million. In particular, the export of Russian poultry meat increased by 48%, chocolate confectionery by 28%, and the supply of wheat increased,” the deputy minister said.

In addition, Sergey Levin had working meetings with the Director General of the Office for Standardization and Metrology of the UAE Abdullah Al-Maini and the Director General of the Certification Center of the Arabian Gulf countries Ahmed Al-Mutayri, during which the parties discussed the need to expand the number of accredited Russian centers certifying domestic agricultural products and Halal food for supplies to the Gulf countries.

Also, Sergey Levin took part in a number of meetings of exporting companies from Russia with representatives of the UAE business community, in particular, with the executive director of the largest grain company Al Dahra Holding LLC, Hussein Al Kateri, permanent representative of the World Bank in the UAE, Jamal Al-Kibby, investment Director of the International Finance Corporation Sevgi Sekiner, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Enspire Investment Group Soud Baalawi, and Management Team of the Carrefour Supermarket Chain in the UAE.

– mcx.ru