The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) plan to sign a free trade agreement within the next two to three months. This was announced by the UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi.
"Another important event last year was the preparation of the free trade agreement between the UAE and the Eurasian Economic Union, which includes Russia. The work on this agreement took almost a year and a half . We eagerly anticipate signing the document in two or three months," he said at the opening of the "Made in Russia" fair, organized by the Russian Export Center in Abu Dhabi, TASS reports.
The minister also noted that over the past three years, trade between the UAE and Russia has grown from $3.5 billion to $10 billion. According to him, establishing a free trade zone will further boost trade between the countries.
Negotiations on the free trade zone between the UAE and the EAEU began in March 2023. Several rounds of consultations have taken place since then. As previously reported by Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development, the agreement will regulate tariff liberalization, customs and sectoral cooperation, e-commerce, intellectual property protection, and trade defense measures.
Earlier, Eurasian Economic Commission Minister for Trade Andrey Slepnev stated that negotiations on the agreement between the UAE and the EAEU had been completed. Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov noted that the document could be signed in mid-2025.
The EAEU is an economic integration bloc comprising Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Observer status has been granted to Iran, Cuba, Moldova, and Uzbekistan.
