DUBAI, May 28 (Reuters) -

Nasdaq-listed telecom company VEON is

considering a dual listing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in

the next three to five years, its CEO said on Wednesday, after

moving its headquarters to Dubai from Amsterdam last year.

VEON is the parent company of Ukraine's Kyivstar and

Pakistan's Jazz, the two countries' largest mobile operators,

respectively.

"We have of course moved our headquarters with all the

intentions about the future relevance for these markets," CEO

Kaan Terzioglu said during an event in Dubai. "At a certain

point I think this (a UAE listing) will be inevitable."

Terzioglu added that investors in the Gulf region had a

better understanding of VEON's markets.

VEON is shifting to a "digital operator" strategy,

offering financial, healthcare and entertainment services in

addition to mobile connectivity. It also operates in Uzbekistan,

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Bangladesh.

Terzioglu said VEON might also consider initial public

offerings (IPO) of its subsidiaries in the UAE along the same

timeline.

Kyivstar is already

planning

a U.S. listing later this year with a pro-forma valuation

of $2.21 billion.

Asked whether the company might look to expand to other

markets in the Middle East, Terzioglu said that Iraq and Syria

would play an important role in the future and that the firm was

in talks with investors there.

"I believe, especially the changes in Syria, (with) the

new government being in place, basically, the country is reborn.

And it perfectly fits into a large population, unmet demand

market," he said.

He said, however, that more work was needed in terms of

regulations, tax regimes before the company could make a

definitive commitment in Syria.

Terzioglu added that VEON, which recently

signed

an exclusive partnership with Elon Musk's Starlink to

develop and provide direct-to-cell connectivity in Ukraine, was

in talks with the company over potential partnerships across the

other markets where it operates.

VEON is also in talks for partnerships with other

satellite companies including ASD and Eutelsat's

OneWeb.