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Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) launched talks to establish a free trade agreement between the two countries, Israel’s Economy Ministry confirmed on Tuesday.
Economy Minister Orna Barbivai on Monday held a virtual meeting with her Emirati counterpart, Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, to kickstart the negotiations. Other senior Israeli officials on the negotiating team were in Dubai until Thursday for more talks, the ministry said. Israel and the UAE normalised relations last year under the landmark Abraham Accords alongside Bahrain, and bilateral trade in goods alone reached nearly $500 million so far in 2021 – up from $125 million in 2020 – and is expected to continue growing rapidly.
On Thursday, Emirati and Israeli state-owned weapons makers signed a strategic agreement in Dubai to jointly design unmanned vessels capable of carrying out anti-submarine warfare. UAE defence conglomerate EDGE and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) announced the partnership on the final day of the biennial Dubai Airshow.
