• by IPS Correspondents (abu dhabi)
• Sunday, December 18, 1994
• Inter Press Service

ABU DHABI, Dic 18 (IPS) - GULF ARAB STATES ARE LOOKING TOWARDS RUSSIA AND OTHER FORMER COMMUNIST NATIONS AS POSSIBLE INVESTMENT MARKETS AS PART OF THEIR DIVERSIFICATION PLANS AIMED AT OFFSETTING LOSSES FROM UNSTABLE MARKETS IN OTHER COUNTRIES.

OFFICIALS FROM THE SIX-NATION GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL (GCC) ARE CURRENTLY DISCUSSING NEW INVESTMENTS IN BANKING, OIL AND OTHER SECTORS WITH DELEGATIONS FROM RUSSIA, POLAND, UKRAINE, AND THE CZECH AND SLOVAK REPUBLICS.

MANY DELEGATIONS FROM THE GCC NATIONS -- SAUDI ARABIA, THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, BAHRAIN, QATAR, KUWAIT AND OMAN -- HAVE RECENTLY VISITED THOSE COUNTRIES TO EXPLORE POTENTIAL PROJECTS.

REGIONAL ECONOMISTS SAY THERE ARE VAST INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR POTENTIAL INVESTORS FROM THE GULF STATES, ESPECIALLY IN BANKING, REFINING AND PETROCHEMICALS. THE GULF STATES HAVE SUFFERED SETBACKS FROM RECURRENT UPHEAVALS IN WORLD STOCK MARKETS AND EXCHANGE AND INTEREST RATES.

GCC AND RUSSIAN OFFICIALS SAY THEY WISH TO BOOST EXPORTS AND IMPORTS AND ATTRACT INVESTMENTS. RUSSIAN DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTER OF FOREIGN ECONOMIC RELATIONS TOLD NEWSMEN IN ABU DHABI RECENTLY THAT RUSSIA WAS HOLDING TALKS WITH GCC TRADE OFFICIALS AND BUSINESSMEN ON THE PROSPECTS OF ESTABLISHING JOINT BANKS IN THE FORMER SOVIET REPUBLIC.

HE REVEALED THAT A GULF TEAM OF BANKING EXPERTS WOULD VISIT MOSCOW VERY SOON TO LEARN ABOUT RUSSIAN REGULATIONS WITH REGARD TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF FOREIGN AND JOINT BANKS THERE.

OFFICIAL FIGURES SHOWED RUSSIA'S TRADE WITH SAUDI ARABIA STOOD AT 31 MILLION DOLLARS IN 1993 WHILE IT STOOD AT AROUND 12.5 MILLION DOLLARS WITH KUWAIT AND 3.5 MILLION DOLLARS WITH OMAN. TRADE WITH THE UAE PEAKED AT 257 MILLION DOLLARS IN 1993.

POLAND AND ROMANIA HAVE MADE INVESTMENT OFFERS TO THE GCC STATES IN THEIR REFINING SECTOR, BUT NO AGREEMENT HAS BEEN REACHED. POLISH PRIME MINISTER WALDEMAR PAWLAK DISCUSSED INVESTMENTS DURING A VISIT TO THE EMIRATES LAST MONTH IN WHICH HE ALSO SIGNED SCIENTIFIC AND AVIATION ACCORDS.

"THE UAE WITH ITS STRATEGIC LOCATION AND ECONOMIC STABILITY COULD PROVIDE POLAND A SPRINGBOARD TO EXPAND IN THE REGION," PAWLAK SAID. THE TOTAL TRADE BETWEEN THE UAE AND POLAND REACHED SOME 100 MILLION DOLLARS IN 1993.

© Inter Press Service (2014) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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