Jerusalem, 29 March, 2022 (TPS) — Israel’s Economy and Industry Minister Orna Barbivai and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister of State for Foreign Trade Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi opened the fourth round of the negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement between their nations Tuesday morning. The UAE is the first Arab country with which Israel is establishing a full and comprehensive free trade agreement.
The current round of negotiations is being held this week in Jerusalem with the participation of all working groups from the UAE side. The sides hope to complete the professional work on the agreement and thereby conclude the negotiations ahead of the signing.
Discussions on the free trade agreement first began in November 2021 and of the three previous rounds two were held in Dubai.
The start of the new discussions comes a day after Israel, the UAE and the US launched the Trilateral Religious Coexistence Working Group with an agenda of promoting interfaith and intercultural dialogue and countering religious intolerance and hatred. This happened in Dubai on Monday.
The new forum is a direct outcome of the historic Abraham Accords and was announced last October at the first trilateral meeting of the Foreign Ministers of all three countries.
The new talks also come after the conclusion of the historic Negev Summit that took place in Israel on Sunday and Monday. The summit, which was held at a hotel at Kibbutz Sde Boker in Israel’s Negev desert, saw the foreign ministers of 4 Arab nations – Egypt, Bahrain, Morocco and the UAE, meet together with Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
It was reported during the summit, which focused on regional security and cooperation, that several of the Arab nations even inquired into the possibility of acquiring Israel’s vaunted anti-missile system Iron Dome.
Minister Barbivai talked about the trust that she says exists between the two nations saying that she is “certain that the agreement will be an excellent start to economic cooperation in a range of fields.”
“Upon completion of the agreement,” she added, “an official date will be set for its signing by the economy ministers, which will express the decisions and the timetables that have been agreed upon.”
This new round of talks will be led by Economy and Industry Ministry Director General Dr. Ron Malka and Minister Dr. Al Zeyoudi. The Israeli team will be chaired by Economy and Industry Ministry Foreign Trade Administration Director Ohad Cohen and include representatives from the ministries of Economy and Industry, Agriculture, Foreign Affairs and Justice as well as Tax Authority customs officials.
The governments said that work on the agreement, which is due to be both significant and comprehensive, will include – inter alia – issues regarding trade in goods such as regulation, standards, customs, trade in services, cooperation, government procurement, electronic trade and trademarks.
Since the signing of the Abraham Accords in the summer of 2020, trade between the UAE and Israel has grown significantly and reached a scope of approximately $885 million in 2021. Upon its taking effect, the agreement is expected to assist in significantly increasing bilateral trade and expanding economic links between the two countries.
