SHARJAH - The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) and the Minsk branch of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry have signed a cooperation agreement.

The agreement aimed at defining frameworks and means of joint cooperation and strengthening commercial relations, as well as encouraging, promoting and facilitating economic cooperation between business communities in both countries, and exchanging information and data on economic sectors that provide feasible investment opportunities as well as the establishment of new vital projects.

The agreement was signed by Abdallah Sultan Al Owais, Chairman of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Sergey Nabeshko, General Director of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Minsk branch, during the Sharjah-Belarus business forum.

The forum was organised by the Chamber in the presence of Evgeny Lazarev, Consul-General of Belarus in Dubai, and Mohammed Ahmed Amin Al-Awadi, Director-General of Sharjah Chamber.

Al Owais said that the agreement would further joint investments between the two friendly countries, noting that the volume of non-oil trade between the UAE and Belarus amounted to over $82.6 million in 2021, of which $32 million are imports, $44.5 million exports, and $6.1 million re-exports, representing an increase of 16.2% compared to $71.1 million in 2020.

He emphasised that the agreement is a culmination of these relations towards developing areas of economic cooperation and opening new channels of communication between the representatives of private sectors and businesses in both countries to inaugurate a new stage of quality investments.

Sergey Nabeshko expressed his thanks and appreciation for the SCCI's active and effective efforts to develop the economic partnership between the two countries, stressing that the UAE and the Emirate of Sharjah in particular are a major target for Belarusian investments thanks to their key geographical location as a hub for world trade and professional expertise in all areas of business.

He noted that the cooperation agreement with the Sharjah Chamber is an effective and important step towards building promising economic partnerships in both countries.