A ‘Major Boost’: Israel, UAE Ratify Free Trade Deal
Israel’s Minister of Economy and Industry Orna Barbivai and UAE Minister of Economy Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri present the Free Trade Agreement they signed, which is the first such agreement Israel has with an Arab county, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates May 31, 2022. Anuj Taylor Strap Studios-GPO/Handout via REUTERS
A free trade deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates has been ratified by both countries, the Emirati minister of state for foreign trade announced Sunday.
Thani Al Zeyoudi described the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement as a “major step in our foreign trade agenda,” saying it will “eliminate or reduce tariffs on 96% of products, providing a major boost to our industrial and service sectors.”
It is Israel’s first free trade deal with an Arab country, and was signed in late May following months-long negotiations. A range of good will be impacted, among them food, medicine, and fertilizers.
Non-oil trade between Israel and the UAE, which first normalized relations as part of the US-mediated Abraham Accords in 2020, reached $2 billion this September, “up 114% from the same period in 2021,” Al Zeyoudi added.
He predicted that the accord will accelerate this trend, as new opportunities are created in sectors including technology, clean energy, and food security. Annual non-oil trade between the two economies is expected to surpass $10 billion by 2027.
Liron Zaslansky, consul general of Israel in Dubai, also celebrated the news on social media, writing, “The region’s two leading economic hubs are now closer than ever!”