The text, which must still be confirmed by the Israeli parliament and government, must allow within five years the lifting of customs prices out of 96 % of the goods exchanged by the two countries.
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Less than two years after sealing the normalization of their diplomatic relations, Israel and the United Arab Emirates signed, Tuesday, May 31, a free trade agreement supposed to supervise their ambitious economic rapprochement. This agreement must still be confirmed by the Israeli parliament and government, a process that can take at least two weeks. It should allow, within five years, the lifting of customs tariffs on 96 % of the goods exchanged by the two countries.
In September 2020, the Emirates had been, on the Arab side, the driving force of the so -called “Abraham” agreements, which allowed the normalization of the Jewish state relations with Bahrain then Morocco, and in a more confused way With Sudan, after the fall of the dictator Omar al-Bachir in April 2019. Under the leadership of the Trump administration in Washington, these rapprochements have been sealed without a look for the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel since 1967, to the Dam of Ramallah.
Sign of the voluntarism of Abu Dhabi, the bilateral trade between the two states, excluding petroleum products, exceeded 2.3 billion euros between this date and March 2022, approaching the billion euros during the first three months of the year. This progression clearly distinguishes this relationship established by two states which have never been at war, “cold peace” concluded by Israel with Egypt in 1979 (174 million euros in exchanges in 2021) and Jordan in 1994 (334 million euros). The agreement could make it possible to raise these exchanges at $ 10 billion in five years, estimates the Emirati part, which awaits developments in energy, the environment and e-commerce.
No strategic formalization
The deal also covers the hotel industry, financial services, distribution and construction. This is the second of this type that Abou Dhabi signs, after a similar precedent concluded with India, in February. Israel, for its part, evokes health and medical equipment, food, plastic goods and fertilizers, hoping to extend its trade to the Emirates beyond the diamond market – which represents more half. Concerned with the protection of intellectual property rights, in a country eager for technology transfers, the agreement maintains a long -term ambition of the Jewish State.
He hopes to install an Israeli production to the Emirates and export from Dubai, an international hub where this agreement was announced, to the markets of the Near East, Asia and Africa, where national companies are struggling to enjoy. These negotiations had started at the end of 2021, at the time of the visit of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to the Emirates. Pure form, this long -awaited visit had not given rise to any substantial announcement. Israel intended to warn his partner, who led diplomatic efforts to Iran, the great common regional enemy, during endless negotiations aimed at reviving the Iranian nuclear international agreement in 2015.
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