Russia, UAE sign agreement on trade in services, investments
MOSCOW. Aug 7 (Interfax) - Russia and the United Arab Emirates signed an agreement on trade in services and investments on Thursday, on the sidelines of the meeting of presidents Vladimir Putin and Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Russian Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov and UAE Minister of Foreign Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi are the signatories.
"The agreement will give a fresh impetus to the positive and mutually advantageous cooperation with the UAE. It will promote broader bilateral trade and economic cooperation through trade in services, trade diversification, and bolstered cooperative ties," Reshetnikov told the press.
There will be no restrictions on operations of Russian service suppliers and investors in such areas as computer services, research and development, technical testing, technical consulting, computer backup in air transport, repair of ships and aircraft, rail transport, management, educational and legal services, he said.
Russian companies will be guaranteed the possibility of opening subsidiary banks, healthcare establishments and news agencies with 100% Russian capital in specialized free areas of the UAE.
The Russian-UAE agreement supplements the free trade area agreement concluded by the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the UAE in June 2025.
"One step is signing the free trade area agreement between the EAEU and the United Arab Emirates. This is a truly important step, so we are forming a fully-fledged free trade area. It applies to a vast range of products in our trade, and the key task for 2030 is to increase trade volumes by 40%. Another important step to help achieve this goal is today's agreement on free trade in services," Reshetnikov said.
"The thing is that the UAE market, the market of services to be exact, traditionally has rather strong protection by barriers. By today's agreement, the UAE opens 64 sectors and sub-sectors to our services," he said.
"What is more, the UAE unlocks the important issue of insurance: this is highly relevant to us, considering its relation to maritime and air transport services," Reshetnikov said.
"At the same time, the Russian Federation opens its markets to UAE companies in 12 sectors, those related to aircraft leasing and service, etc. I mean this is what we need for boosting trade. Trade in services accounts for almost $14 billion in our turnover. This is a highly significant number, and we are also hoping to double it roughly by 2030-2031," Reshetnikov said.
