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Free trade talks between the UAE and the European Union are advancing rapidly, UAE state minister Lana Nusseibeh said yesterday at a briefing with an EU commissioner.
The EU and the UAE launched the talks earlier this year, focusing on trade in goods, services, investment and deepening cooperation in strategic sectors, including renewable energy, green hydrogen and critical raw materials, the EU said in April.
The fourth round of talks is scheduled to take place in the UAE this week and a fifth round is scheduled for early next year, according to Nusseibeh.
“We’re having very productive conversations,” she said.
The EU is the UAE’s second-largest trading partner, accounting for 8.3 per cent of UAE’s total non-oil trade.
The UAE is also the EU’s largest export destination and investment partner in the Middle East and North Africa, according to the UAE state news agency.
The announcement follows negotiations on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (Cepa) between the UAE and the EU which began earlier this year.
The UAE launched the Cepa programme in 2021 to reduce tariffs and remove trade bottlenecks with select countries through simpler customs procedures and rules. The agreements are also expected to boost bilateral investment in priority areas. A deal with the EU would be the largest since the UAE signed a Cepa with India – its first ever – in February 2022.
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