Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry recently hosted a roundtable with officials of Dubai low-cost carrier flydubai and Russian Business Council to examine the existing UAE/Russia trade and tourism relations.

The meeting was chaired by Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO of flydubai and Dr Igor Egorov, chairman of the Russian Business Council, which operates under the auspices of Dubai Chamber.

The meeting discussed the impact of increasing air links to emerging destinations in Russia on inter-country economic development and also examined ways to boost bilateral ties.

During the meeting flydubai’s presence in Russia was highlighted as one of the foremost contributing factors to the growth of investment and economic development between the two nations.

The airline had recently doubled its network in Russia to four points with the addition of flights to Kazan and Ufa.

The new routes along with existing destinations Yekaterinburg and Samara provide direct, affordable and convenient flights to the four cities that have had no or few direct air links previously.

Dr. Egorov pointed out that Dubai offered Russian businesses an enormous opportunity to reach out to a global audience, given the city’s central location relative to emerging markets in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

'Flydubai’s new and existing air links will play a critical role in not only expanding investment opportunities in both countries but in opening up fields for collaboration, including oil and gas; manufacturing; general trading; and media to name a few,' he noted.

With its new routes to Ufa and Kazan, flydubai links Dubai to two of Russia’s most buoyant economic regions, he added.

Nassib said Dubai’s high connectivity with the rest of the world was one of its advantages and a reason why the city attracted significant foreign investment.

'Flydubai has played a major role in increasing Dubai’s status as an international business hub through its rapid network expansion to key emerging markets and we congratulate them on their achievements,' he added.

Al Ghaith said, 'Russia is a very important market for us, both in terms of business and tourist travel. With Dubai being home to more than 18,000 Russian expats there is a growing need for quality, low cost, direct flights to these destinations.'

'Russia is a growing economy, having grown by four per cent in 2010 and a further 3.8 per cent in the first five months of 2011,' he added.

Atiq Juma Nassib, senior director, commercial services sector, Dubai Chamber also took part in the meeting.-TradeArabia News Service