First in Arab world
\nEmirati envoy to Israel says UAE-Israel trade will exceed $2bn in 2022, rising to around $5bn in five years
\nDUBAI
\nIsrael signed a free trade deal with the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, its first with an Arab country, building on their US-brokered normalisation of diplomatic relations in 2020.
\nIsrael\u2019s ambassador to the oil-rich UAE, Amir Hayek, tweeted \u201cmabruk\u201d \u2014 congratulations in Arabic \u2014 with a photo of Emirati and Israeli officials holding documents at a signing ceremony in Dubai.
\nThe Emirati envoy to Israel, Mohamed Al Khaja, hailed as an \u201cunprecedented achievement\u201d the deal that, according to the Israeli side, scraps customs duties on 96 percent of all products traded.
\n\u201cBusinesses in both countries will benefit from faster access to markets and lower tariffs as our nations work together to increase trade, create jobs, promote new skills and deepen cooperation,\u201d Khaja tweeted.
\nThe 2020 deal was part of the US-brokered Abraham Accords that also saw Israel establish diplomatic ties with Bahrain and Morocco.
\nTwo-way trade between Israel and the UAE last year totalled some $900 million dollars, according to Israeli figures.
\nUAE-Israel Business Council president Dorian Barak predicted that trade would soon multiply between the regional powerhouse economies.
\n\u201cUAE-Israel trade will exceed $2 billion in 2022, rising to around $5 billion in five years, bolstered by collaboration in renewables, consumer goods, tourism and the life sciences sectors,\u201d he said in a statement.
\n\u201cDubai is fast becoming a hub for Israeli companies that look to South Asia, the Middle East and the Far East as markets for their goods and services.\u201d
\nNearly 1,000 Israeli companies will be working in and through the UAE by year\u2019s end, he said.
\nThe UAE was the first Gulf country to normalise ties with Israel and only the third Arab nation to do so after Egypt and Jordan.
\nTalks for a free trade agreement began in November and concluded after four rounds of negotiations.
\nThe latest was held in March in Egypt between Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, UAE\u2019s long-time de facto ruler who became president this month after the death of his half-brother Sheikh Khalifa.
\nIsrael had in March hosted a meeting of the top diplomats from the United States, UAE, Bahrain and Morocco.
\nSudan in 2020 also agreed to normalise ties with Israel, but the strife-torn northeast African country has yet to finalise a deal.
\nIsrael has already struck free trade agreements with other countries and blocs, including the United States, European Union, Canada and Mexico.
\nIn February, Israel signed a trade deal with Rabat to designate special industrial zones in Morocco.
\nThe Abraham Accords broke with long-standing pan-Arab policy to isolate Israel until it withdraws from the occupied territories and accepts Palestinian statehood.
\nPalestinians condemned the agreements struck under then US president Donald Trump, and the conflict continues to inflame tensions, including between Israel and the UAE.
\nTuesday\u2019s signing came two days after thousands of flag-waving Israelis marched through Jerusalem\u2019s Old City during a nationalist procession marking Israel\u2019s 1967 capture of east Jerusalem.
\nIsrael annexed east Jerusalem in 1980, a move never recognised by the international community.
\nThe UAE on Monday \u201cstrongly condemned\u201d what it called Israel\u2019s \u201cstorming\u201d of Jerusalem\u2019s Al Aqsa mosque compound, one of Islam\u2019s holiest sites.
\nThe UAE \u201creiterated its firm position on the need to provide full protection for Al Aqsa Mosque and halt serious and provocative violations taking place there\u201d, reported the official WAM news agency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
First in Arab world Emirati envoy to Israel says UAE-Israel trade will exceed $2bn in 2022, rising to around $5bn in five years DUBAI Israel signed a free trade deal with the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, its first with an Arab country, building on their US-brokered normalisation of diplomatic relations in 2020. Israel\u2019s ambassador […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":263724,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1430,7939,1076],"class_list":{"0":"post-263704","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-israel","9":"tag-trade-deal","10":"tag-uae"},"yoast_head":"\n