On the eve Abu Dhabi hosted the first ministerial meeting of the Strategic Dialogue – Russia and the Council for the Arab States of the Gulf Cooperation (GCC), which resulted in a Memorandum of Understanding for strategic dialogue and cooperation.

Russia was represented by the Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on this multilateral meeting, according to Itar-Tass.

At the final press conference, Lavrov and the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, the UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahaiyan expressed the mutual interest and willingness of their countries to further develop and deepen cooperation in various fields.

The next meeting of the Strategic Dialogue “Russia - the GCC” will be held in Moscow next year. "We have agreed to inform our leaders that the next meeting will be held in Moscow, and by this time, our experts will prepare an action plan of our strategic cooperation", - the Russian Foreign Minister said.

The next ministerial meeting of the Strategic Dialogue “Russia - the GCC” will be held in Moscow in 2012.

November 2, 2011