EAEU, UAE to complete trade agreement ratification process within two months - EEC

ST. PETERSBURG. June 3 (Interfax) - The process of ratifying the free trade agreement between Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) countries and the United Arab Emirates is in the final stage and should be completed within two months, after which the countries will announce when the document will go into effect.

"The ratification of the agreement with the Emirates is nearing completion. Some union members have already ratified, the Emirati side is also in the final stage of the process. We expect that in a month or two Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan will complete the process and there will be an announcement on the date the agreement with the UAE will go into force," Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) Trade Minister Andrei Slepnev said in an interview with Interfax.

The countries have already agreed to start preparing a roadmap for the agreement's implementation, he said.

Some companies' exit from the UAE due to the conflict in the Middle East will open up additional opportunities for companies from EAEU countries, he said.

"There are serious changes happening in the country right now against the backdrop of the conflicts taking place and this opens new niches for our companies that manage to take the place of those who decided that it's become too scary to work in the Emirates," Slepnev said.

"In general, we expect the union's exports to the UAE to grow by $5 billion-$6 billion in the medium term," he said.

The free trade agreement with the UAE is one of three trade agreements signed by the EAEU and set to go into effect. It was recently announced that a similar agreement with Mongolia will go into force on July 22, 2026, and Slepnev said an agreement with Indonesia is expected to go into force by the end of the year.