MOSCOW MAYOR MEETS WITH UAE CHAMBERLAIN

ABU DHABI, April 4, 2004. (RIA Novosti) - Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov met Sunday with Sheikh Suroor Bin Mohamed Al Nahyan, Chamberlain of the United Arab Emirates' Presidential Court, to discuss cooperation between Russia and the UAE and ways to develop it further, especially in such areas as investment and trade, an Abu Dhabi news agency reports.

Mr. Luzhkov is leading a City Hall delegation to an international investment forum, Moscow Invest 2004, currently underway in Abu Dhabi.

The UAE Presidential Court Chamberlain hailed Mr. Luzhkov's visit and reiterated the willingness of the country's president, Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, to consolidate friendship with Russia for the benefit of both nations.

The Moscow Mayor, for his part, praised the UAE for its economic and cultural achievements.

The Moscow Invest forum is being held under the auspices of the Moscow International Business Association and the UAE Chamber of Industry and Commerce. It celebrates the establishment of dialogue between the entrepreneurial circles of Russia and the United Arab Emirates on investment and other forms of economic cooperation.