President Armen Sarkissian hosted today Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Thani, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Air Arabia, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates, and Adel Abdullah Al Ali, Director of the company.

Air Arabia, the largest air carrier in the Middle East and North Africa, and the National Interest Fund of Armenia will sign an agreement today on the establishment of a new Armenian national airline. The first discussions on Armenian-Emirati cooperation in the field of transportation and air communication took place in the UAE during the meeting of President Armen Sarkissian and the Governor of Sharjah, Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi. The President of Armenia conveyed his warm greetings and best wishes to the Governor of Sharjah.

President Sarkissian welcomed the cooperation with a major international air carrier, the establishment of the Armenian National Airline, expressing satisfaction that the high-level agreements reached during his visits to the United Arab Emirates are being implemented due to continuous bilateral cooperation. In this connection, President Sarkissian praised the effective work of the RA Government, in particular the Acting Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan, the Chairwoman of the Civil Aviation Committee Tatevik Revazyan, the Head of the National Interest Fund of Armenia David Papazyan over the past two years.

“Armenia is currently going through a rather difficult period. We appreciate our friends, who are especially by our side at this stage, starting a new cooperation and a new project in Armenia. We have warm friendly relations with the Arab countries, և your presence in this project proves it. We expect more projects and initiatives,” said President Sarkissian. He expressed confidence that the activity of Air Arabia airline in the Armenian market will be a new impetus for the development of the air transportation sphere, will contribute to closer cooperation between the two countries.

Expressing gratitude for the warm reception, Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed al-Thani said that he highly appreciates President Sarkissian’s personal efforts in developing the Armenian-Emirati interstate relations. He stressed that both sides were interested in developing cooperation, which forms the basis for the implementation of the new joint project. The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Air Arabia expressed confidence that the new air bridge, especially the establishment of an Armenian national air carrier with the participation of the Emirati airline, will be another reliable step in strengthening trade, economic and business ties between Armenia and the UAE.

The management of Air Arabia and the Executive Director of the National Interests Fund of Armenia briefed President Sarkissian on the planned works and programs. It was noted that the flights of the Armenian national carrier are planned for next year.