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Israel, UAE finalize free trade deal
April 01, 2022
'This milestone deal will cement one of the world’s most... promising emerging trading relationships'
Israel and the United Arab Emirates concluded negotiations for a freed trade agreement, the Israeli Economy Ministry and Emirati foreign trade minister said Friday.
The trade agreement includes 95 percent of traded products - including food, agriculture, cosmetic products, medical equipment, and medicine - which will be customs-free.
Included in the deal were regulation, customs, services, government procurement, and electronic trade, and will come into effect when signed by the countries’ economy ministers and ratified.
Trade between the UAE and Israel is continuing to grow since the two states established diplomatic relations in 2020 as part of the US-brokered Abraham Accords that also included Bahrain and Morocco.
Following the normalization agreement, the nations have also embarked on a series of cooperative ventures - including a joint research and development fund of over $94 million to promote tech projects within Israeli and Emirati firms.
"This milestone deal will build on the historic Abraham Accords and cement one of the world’s most important and promising emerging trading relationships," UAE Foreign Trade Minister Thani Al Zeyoudi tweeted.
While no timetable was given, last month the CEO of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry Hamad Buamim said Israel could be one of the UAE’s top ten trading partners “in five years or more,” Gulf News reported.