Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with his Emirati counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in Abu Dhabi on Monday to discuss economic cooperation, the Gulf country’s official news agency reported.
Sheikh Mohammed emphasised the need to “build effective partnerships with the countries of the world” during the meeting, the WAM news agency said.
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He also spoke of “the importance of reaching peaceful solutions to crises” around the world, while the Ukrainian president reportedly thanked the United Arab Emirates for its “contribution” to the exchange of prisoners between Kyiv and Moscow.
The two countries also signed an “economic partnership agreement”, WAM said.
Zelensky arrived in the UAE on Sunday, on a visit coinciding with an expected meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin in neighbouring Saudi Arabia.
He posted a video of himself getting off the plane in Abu Dhabi and holding talks with officials.
“Official visit to the United Arab Emirates together with the First Lady,” Zelensky said on X.
“Our top priority is bringing even more of our people home from captivity. We will also focus on investments and economic partnership, as well as a large-scale humanitarian program,” he added.
The UAE has been an important mediator between Russia and Ukraine, helping with prisoner exchanges and the return of Ukrainian children from Russia, throughout the three-year war.
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Zelensky had said last week that he planned to also visit Turkey and Saudi Arabia in the coming days.
But on Friday he clarified that he had no plans to meet with Russian or US officials in Riyadh.
Moscow and Washington are preparing for a summit between their two leaders, with Europe and Kyiv worried they will try to settle the three-year war in Ukraine without them.
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