Officials in Israel and the United Arab Emirates have launched talks to establish a free trade agreement, the Israeli Economy Ministry has announced.
Israeli officials landed in Dubai on Sunday to negotiate with their UAE counterparts on a visit slated to continue through Thursday, the ministry said.
Israeli Foreign Trade Administration director Ohad Cohen is heading the negotiating team, which includes officials from the Israeli Customs Administration, the Agriculture Ministry, the Justice Ministry and the Foreign Ministry.
“We intend to conclude a meaningful and comprehensive agreement with our colleagues which will include, among other things, issues relating to trade in goods including regulation and standardization, customs, trade in services, government procurement, digital trade and the preservation of intellectual property rights,” Cohen said.
Economy Minister Orna Barbivai met in a video conference with UAE Economy Minister Abdullah Bin Touq Al Marri on Monday to launch the process.
“This agreement will significantly strength trade between the two countries, remove barriers and expand economic cooperation,” the Israeli minister told her UAE counterpart in a statement issued by the Economy Ministry.
“I hope that we will be able to fulfill the great potential inherent in the relations and friendship between Israel and the United Arab Emirates,” she added.
Since the signing of the Abraham Accords one year ago, trade between Israel and the UAE has increased dramatically; as of July 2021, trade between the two nations stands at about $495 million in goods alone.
The export volume stands at $197 million, most of it in diamonds, mechanization and electrical equipment, electronics, transportation and oils. The volume of imports stads at $298 million, most of it in diamonds, mechanics, electrical and electronic equipment, jewelry, minerals and fuels, and oils.
The volume of trade in goods in 2020 between the two countries was about $125 — 58 million exports and around $67 million imports.