UAE Agrees To Hold Bilateral Trade Talks With Ukraine

The United Arab Emirates and Ukraine will begin talks on a bilateral trade agreement. The deal is expected to be concluded by the middle of next year, according to the UAE’s economy minister, Thani Al Zeyoudi, who signed a joint statement agreeing to start the talks on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko. In 2021, non-oil trade between the UAE and Ukraine reached $904.4 million, a 28.4% increase over the same period in 2020 and 12.2% more than 2019, according to Trade Arabia News Service. In addition, UAE investment in Ukraine reached nearly $243.3 million in 2021, with Ukrainian investment in the UAE totaling $84 million in 2020. It is the UAE’s first such agreement with a European nation, and the UAE reportedly sees it as a way to signal its openness to trade in Europe and Asia. Meanwhile, Al Zeyoudi said at the signing on Monday that: “This is not only going to bring added value to the UAE but also to Ukraine, as well.” By cutting this deal with Ukraine, the UAE will be in a position to be among the first in line to help the war-torn country rebuild its economy, which is being decimated by Russia’s war on Ukraine, in part by opening up more markets to export its grain. The UAE has worked to remain neutral in the conflict, however.