UAE–EAEU partnership agreement takes effect

The economic partnership agreement between the UAE and EAEU officially entered into force.

The economic partnership agreement between the UAE and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) officially entered into force today, ushering in a new phase of trade cooperation with the bloc’s five member states, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia.

The agreement aims to accelerate goods trade by reducing or eliminating customs duties on a wide range of products, simplifying procedures, and removing unnecessary trade barriers. It also sets out frameworks for customs cooperation, digital commerce, and broader economic collaboration, state-run WAM reported.

Under the agreement, both parties will enjoy preferential access on about 86% of tariff lines, which covers around 96% of the bilateral trade value. The agreement is projected to help lift annual trade between the two markets to nearly $50 billion by 2032.

Non-oil trade between the UAE and EAEU reached $33.6 billion in 2025, up 16% from about $29 billion in 2024, and more than four times the level recorded in 2021.

UAE imports from union countries totaled $17.8 billion in 2025, while re-exports reached $13.7 billion. In H1 2026, bilateral non-oil trade rose 6.2% year-on-year to $14.3 billion.

The agreement was signed in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, on June 27, 2025. It grants UAE exporters preferential access to EAEU markets and opens a gateway for producers in the union to reach markets in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.