On 17 February 2025, Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which provides for free trade between the countries and liberalisation of access to the markets for both countries.
In particular, the terms of this Agreement stipulate that 99% of Ukrainian imports from the UAE and 97% of Ukrainian exports to the UAE will be exempt from customs duties.
The Ukraine hopes that these changes will facilitate the growth of Ukrainian exports in the metallurgy and food industries.
The Agreement also provides for the UAE’s lifting of the 49% foreign ownership limit, which will allow entrepreneurs to register companies with up to 70% foreign ownership, and gradually up to 100% in certain sectors (commercial services, construction, education, healthcare and accounting). At the same time, Ukrainian companies will be able to own 100% of the business in free economic zones, which is an important step for the development of Ukrainian business in this region.
In addition, the Agreement covers not only trade in goods, but also services, investment and the digital economy. The agreement cancels duties on digital and electronic data transfer, including electronic content, and defines obligations on digital payments, personal data protection, and the creation of transparent rules for business.
For some goods, the Agreement provides for the cancellation of duties from the date of entry into force of the Agreement, but for other the cancellation shall be within 3 or 5 years from that date. The document will enter into force 60 days after the date of receipt of the last written diplomatic note by which the parties notify each other of the completion of domestic procedures necessary for the Agreement to enter into force, unless the parties otherwise agree.
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