Israel and the UAE have finalized preparations for their free trade agreement which aims to reduce goods tariffs and enhance the countries’ access to each other’s markets. Israel’s Minister of Economy Orna Barbivai and the UAE’s Minister of Foreign Trade Thani Al Zeyoudi concluded the details of the agreement during a meeting on Friday which will pave the way for future economic growth for both countries. “We have concluded talks on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with Israel and it is now ready for signature,” tweeted the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani Al Zeyoudi on Friday, April 1st. “This milestone deal will build on the historic Abraham Accords and cement one of the world’s most important and promising emerging trading relationships,” he added.
The UAE, alongside Morocco and Bahrain, formally re-established relations with Israel in 2020 as part of the Abraham Accords, which were brokered by the US. Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said on October 7, 2021, that Morocco, the US, the UAE, and Bahrain all played a role in facilitating agreements with other countries that were not involved in the Abraham Accords. The UAE was also one of the countries in addition to Morocco, Israel, and Bahrain that participated in the historic Negev Summit on March 27. Israel vowed to share some of its advanced technical defense systems with the countries that attended the summit.