President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed Decree No. 519/2025 appointing Oleksandr Balanutsa as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Permanent Representative to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), headquartered in Abu Dhabi.
Alexander Balanuța is an experienced diplomat who previously served as Ukraine’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the State of Kuwait. Since 2024, he has also served as Ukraine’s Special Representative for Cooperation with the Arab Countries of the Persian Gulf.
His appointment to the UAE is a logical continuation of his diplomatic mission in the Middle East. Balanuța has been actively working to expand economic, energy, and investment ties between Ukraine and countries in the region, including on attracting investment in Ukraine’s renewable energy sector.
Ukraine and the UAE established diplomatic relations in 1992. The Ukrainian Embassy in Abu Dhabi has been operating since 1993. The Emirates are one of Ukraine’s key partners in the Middle East, especially in the context of trade, high technology, and energy.
The appointment of the new ambassador demonstrates Ukraine’s intention to deepen cooperation with the UAE and international institutions such as IRENA in the context of the global energy transition.
IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency) is an international agency for renewable energy, founded in 2009, which brings together 169 countries (as of 2025). The organization’s goal is to promote sustainable development and the use of all forms of renewable energy worldwide. The agency’s headquarters are located in Abu Dhabi (UAE). Ukraine has been a full member of IRENA since 2018.
Due to the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, particularly following US strikes on Iranian targets, the authorities of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE have temporarily closed their airspace to civilian aircraft. This has led to widespread flight cancellations and diversions by major international airlines.
Qatar closed its airspace on June 23. About 100 flights to Hamad Airport (Doha) were rerouted via Saudi Arabia and Egypt, which lengthened flight times and increased fuel consumption and operating costs.
The UAE (Dubai and Abu Dhabi) also suspended the arrival and departure of all civilian aircraft, which are forced to turn back before entering the country’s airspace.
The states took preventive measures due to the threat of strikes against American and Western targets in the region. International airlines — Singapore Airlines, British Airways, Air France-KLM, American Airlines, United Airlines, and Air Canada — have suspended or changed their routes to these destinations. Flight routes are now being rerouted via the Caspian Sea and Egypt, which will significantly lengthen flights and increase their cost.
The US Air Force is expected to be active in the skies over the Persian Gulf. US military aircraft will participate in repelling Iranian strikes on American bases and allied facilities in the region. No official announcement has been made yet on how many flights have been canceled, but the situation has already caused serious disruptions to air traffic. For passengers, this means delays, ticket cancellations, and longer routes. The aviation industry is preparing for higher costs and fewer flights through one of the world’s key transit hubs.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will invest $1.4 trillion in the US economy over the next 10 years, the White House said in a statement. The investment plans were announced after US President Donald Trump met with UAE National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan this week.
“The new plan envisages a significant increase in the UAE’s current investments in the US economy, particularly in AI infrastructure, semiconductor and energy industries, as well as in the US industrial sector,” the statement said.
Companies from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are ready to invest in the production of processed foods, grain transshipment and port development, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food has reported.
According to the ministry, during a working visit to Saudi Arabia, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Vitaliy Koval and a government delegation headed by First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko met with more than 20 leading UAE companies. Among them are port operators, investment, agricultural and trading companies interested in import and export cooperation with Ukraine.
“Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates have opened a new page in economic partnership. Among the UAE companies there are those that are ready to enter the Ukrainian market. In particular, to invest in the production of processed products, such as oilseeds, rapeseed, soybeans. As well as grain transshipment and port infrastructure development,” Koval said.
The Minister emphasized that the Ukrainian agricultural sector is already actively working with the UAE. In 2024, we exported more than $197 million worth of agricultural products. Among the most popular products were fats and oils of animal or vegetable origin, meat and edible offal, cereals, vinegar, etc.
As reported, the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between Ukraine and the UAE was signed in Abu Dhabi on February 17. It provides for free trade between the two countries and liberalization of access to the UAE market for Ukrainian agricultural products, including duty-free supplies of beef, lamb, dairy and processed foods. In addition, the Saudi side has expressed interest in joint development of beef cattle breeding and production of organic products.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit the UAE and Saudi Arabia, but he will not meet with the Russians or the Americans.
“I have an official visit to the Emirates with my wife, the first lady, because we have a large humanitarian program, and the issue of prisoner exchange. Secondly, after that, I will visit Saudi Arabia with the same issues and another partnership with His Royal Highness. It will be for two or three days. I will have three meetings with President Erdogan in Turkey. I will not meet with the Russians, but I will not meet with the Americans there either,” Zelenskyy told reporters at the Munich Security Conference.
Active Group and Experts Club have conducted a joint study on the attitudes of Ukrainians towards the countries of East Asia and the Middle East. The research was presented at the Interfax-Ukraine news agency in June 2024. The research was presented by Maksym Urakin and Oleksandr Poznyi. The results of the study are as follows:
The results of the survey are as follows:
Completely positive – 8.9%.
Mostly positive – 43.5
Mostly negative – 15.1 %.
Completely negative – 2.6
Difficult to answer – 29.9%.
Positive – Negative – 34.7
3 On October 15, 1992, Ukraine and the UAE established diplomatic relations. On March 11, 2013, the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates was opened in Kyiv.
A joint study by Active Group and Experts Club on the attitudes of Ukrainians towards East Asia and the Middle East was conducted in April-May 2024. It covers such countries as Turkey, Iran, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Armenia, India, China, Republic of Korea, DPRK, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Syria, and Iraq. Full information on the research is available on the website of the Club of Experts at
