General

On May 31, Israel and the United Arab Emirates officially signed a free trade agreement in the UAE city of Dubai. This is the first free trade agreement between Israel and Arab countries.

On the same day, the Information Office of the Israeli government issued a statement that 96% of the goods in the trade between the two countries will be exempted from tariffs immediately or gradually, involving food, agriculture, cosmetics, medical devices, drugs and other fields. In addition, the agreement also covers such areas as regulation and standardization, customs, government procurement, e-commerce and intellectual property rights.

Olna babiwai, Minister of economy and industry of Israel, said that this is the first free trade agreement between Israel and Arab countries, which is expected to strengthen bilateral trade, break barriers and create new economic opportunities.

Sultan Jaber, Minister of industry and advanced technology of the United Arab Emirates, said that the United Arab Emirates will continue to take measures to promote economic development and enhance its status as a regional trade, investment and industrial center. The free trade agreement with Israel will create a new paradigm for regional cooperation.

In September, 2020, the United Arab Emirates and Israel signed an agreement on normalization of relations. The negotiation of the free trade agreement between the two countries began in November 2021 and was completed in April 2022.