Ukraine, UAE complete talks on economic partnership agreement
MOSCOW. May 2 (Interfax) - Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have signed a joint statement on completing talks on a comprehensive economic partnership agreement between the two countries' governments, Ukrainian media reported on Monday, citing the Economy Ministry.
Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Yulia Sviridenko and UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi signed the statement in Abu Dhabi, the UAE, on April 26, the ministry's website said.
"This is the first agreement in the most economically advanced region of the Middle East. It covers not only the UAE but also the Gulf regions. That is, it is an entry not only into the UAE market, but into the global market," Sviridenko was quoted as saying in the ministry's statement.
She noted that the UAE holds the top positions in terms of trade logistics.
Sviridenko also noted that this is not a conventional free trade agreement, as it is comprehensive and takes into account goods, services, investments, digital trade and so on.
Following the signing of the statement, the parties will proceed to the legal verification of the draft agreement, and carry out domestic procedures required for its signing, the Economy Ministry said.
The short-term survey indicates that the deal may contribute to maintaining trade surplus, while in the medium and long term it may have an impact on shifting the real GDP development trend by 0.10%.
Among the sectors, high growth rates are expected in transportation, as well as in metallurgy, food processing, in particular, flour milling and vegetable oil production. In particular, higher exports of metals and vegetable oil are among the expected results of the deal.
According to the State Statistics Committee, between January and February of this year, exports of goods from Ukraine to the UAE rose 86.3% to $45.5 million year-on-year, while imports dropped 2.4 times to $11.5 million.
The main items in the exports are fats and oils of animal and vegetable origin ($13.7 million, up 36.3%), meat and edible by-products ($9.26 million, up 7.6 times) and grains ($6.7 million, up 56.7 times), while in the imports these are electrical machinery and equipment, sound recording and reproduction equipment ($2.9 million, down 33.8%), plastics, polymeric materials and products thereof ($1.8 million, 5.6-fold growth).