ABU DHABI, October 15. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin compared the trade turnover between Russia and the United Arab Emirates with revenues of this country from trips of Russian tourists.
"The United Arab Emirates is a popular destination for Russian tourists; [the tourist traffic] increase was 23% last year," Putin said during the bilateral talks. According to estimates of the Bank of Russia, Russian "tourists spent over $1.3 bln in Emirates, which is comparable with the [bilateral] trade turnover," the Russian leader said.
"Mutual cancellation of visa requirements is called to promote expansion of contacts between citizens of two countries," Putin said. The relevant intergovernmental agreement was signed on the initiative of the UAE and came into force this February, he said. "We will continue moving in this direction," the Russian leader added.