Will UAE and Israel close in a possible free trade deal by summer?

Guld News claims that was unthinkable for so many years could be possible in near time.

Within the next 10 years, Israel could emerge as a Top 10 trading partner for the UAE, according to a top Dubai Chamber official.

If all goes to plan, that target could even be met in five years or more,” said Hamad Buamim, President and CEO of Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry. “The (UAE and Israel) governments are in advanced negotiation about the free trade agreement, which we hope will be accomplished before summer.”

Following the Abraham Accords of 2019, the value of intra-UAE trade with Israel amounted to more than Dh3.5 billion until the end of September 2021. The value of non-oil trade between the two exceeded Dh2.9 billion during the same period.

“In 12 months from now, we will see a big increase,” said Ittai Ben-Zeev, CEO of Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. “There are certain transactions that are in the pipeline. So we are very optimistic about the opportunities.”

The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE), UAE Embassy in Tel Aviv and the Dubai International Chamber hosted Israeli businesses and Emirati investors at the ‘Dubai Israel: Future Horizons’ conference to explore partnerships. The conference aims to advance economic ties between the two countries and encourage global investment in Israel’s capital markets, through TASE.

“You need to have business outside of Israel because the country is too small,” said Ben-Zeev. “TASE’s mission is to expose leading Israeli public companies to a broad range of investors, and now is the time to also reach out to investors from the eastern hemisphere.

Source:Gulf News