Working parties from the Ministries of Justice of the Republic of Bulgaria and of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are to draw up a draft agreement for legal assistance in criminal proceedings between the two countries: this was negotiated by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ekaterina Zaharieva and Minister of Justice, Sultan Al Badi. The two met within the framework of Minister Zaharieva’s working visit to the UAE.

One of the important aspects of the agreement will be the option to extradite citizens in cases of an enforceable judgment or if a person has been charged with a general crime.

‘We expect to cooperate with the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria in order to conclude bilateral agreements,’ Sultan Al Badi stated.

‘If we want our economy to be stable and to grow, we need an independent and unbiased justice system: this is one of the key factors investors are interested in,’ Ekaterina Zaharieva said.

At present, no Bulgarian citizens convicted in the UAE are serving time, having been punished by imprisonment. Two Bulgarian citizens used to serve life sentences for trafficking, drug possession and trade in the central prison in Dubai. They were pardoned by the Emir of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, on 2^nd of December 2017, which is the national day of the federal monarchy (Unification Day), and are now in Bulgaria. As of the date of their pardons, 12 years had passed since their sentencing, which is one of the conditions for pardoning. This is the first time that people convicted of drug-related crimes have been pardoned in the Emirate.

Two Bulgarian citizens are in custody for petty theft. In the UAE, thieves are captured and identified very quickly thanks to the new system for registering foreigners entering the country, which collects biometric data (including a retinal scan). When that is combined with one of the best video surveillance systems covering public places, this guarantees that petty thieves will be identified almost instantly and sentenced quickly.

Ekaterina Zaharieva presented the structure of the Bulgarian judiciary, and the professional development routes for magistrates. Minister Sultan Al Badi expressed interest in the new regulations on selecting the members of the Supreme Judicial Council, and on selecting the three leading figures of the judiciary: the Prosecutor General, and the Chairs of the Supreme Court of Cassation and of the Supreme Administrative Court.

Minister Sultan Al Badi presented the structure of the UAE judiciary, the legislative initiatives to ensure its higher efficiency, and the plans to introduce a uniform electronic system on the progress of cases, which is part of their long-term strategy for the development of the judiciary.

As part of her working visit, Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva also met Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Minister of Infrastructure Development.

‘We have to promote cooperation, and attract Bulgarian construction companies and engineers to the UAE. In recent years, Bulgaria has vastly expanded its infrastructure,’ Minister Zaharieva said.

The two discussed the opportunities for cooperation, especially in the sphere of renewable energy sources, and for organizing a meeting between Bulgarian companies and contractors working on big infrastructure projects in the UAE.

‘Bulgarians are very popular in North Africa: you have contributed greatly to the development of the region. I hope that your construction companies will come to our market, too,’ Minister Al Nuaimi said.