Armenia finalises its part of work on draft free trade agreement between UAE and EEU – minister

YEREVAN, 25 October. /ARKA/. Armenia has completed its part of work on a draft free trade agreement between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) , Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan said at a meeting of the parliamentary committee on regional and Eurasian integration on Friday.

According to him, Armenia is the last of the EEU member states to finalise this work. Papoyan added that he is in constant contact with his Emirati counterpart, UAE Minister of Foreign Trade Tani bin Ahmed Al Zayoudi, to specify the details.

‘Our ministries are working on finalising the internal processes and sending the documents to the governments,’ the Armenian minister said.

The UAE and the EEU have been negotiating a free trade agreement since March 2023. The parties expect that the agreement may be signed by the end of 2024. It will regulate, in particular, tariff liberalisation, customs and sectoral cooperation, e-commerce and intellectual property, trade protection measures. 

Armenia's trade with the Emirates 

The UAE is one of the three major trade partners of Armenia. According to the National Statistical Committee, the trade turnover between the two countries in January-August 2024 exceeded $4.35bn, increasing 6.8 times year-on-year.

Exports for 8 months reached $4.31bn with a 7.3-fold increase, while imports totalled $304.9m, down 23%.-0-