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Bilateral trade between Israel and the UAE increased by 117 percent in the first half of 2022 compared to the same period last year, a senior Israeli diplomat told the Emirates News Agency (WAM).
Amir Hayek, the Israeli ambassador to the UAE, also predicted that the UAE will be among Israel’s top ten trading partners within the next two to three years.
He said the UAE can be an important growth engine for Israeli industry because of the innovative infrastructure and essential elements of the business the UAE provides.
Bilateral trade volume of US$560 million [AED2.06 billion] Soars to $1.214 billion in first six months of 2021 [AED4.46 billion] In the first half of 2022, he revealed in an exclusive interview with WAM at the Israeli embassy in Abu Dhabi on the second anniversary of the Abraham Accord signed in September 2020, which established diplomatic relations with Israel. United Arab Emirates.
Seven-month trade volumes in 2022 exceed 2021 figures
The envoy said bilateral trade in the first seven months of 2022 stood at US$1.407 billion, surpassing the US$1.221 billion for the whole of 2021.
“So, it’s a huge number. It puts the UAE in 19th place among the countries that do business with Israel. By the end of the year, the UAE will be in the 15th or 16th ranking and I believe in the next 2- In 3 years we will see the UAE in the top 10 countries with which Israel trades,” predicts the diplomat, “which is beautiful”.
According to the UAE Ministry of Economy, non-oil trade between the UAE and Israel exceeded $2.5 billion between September 2020 and March 2022, while the first three months of 2022 reached $1.06 billion, five times the total for the same period in 2021 .
Five factors make the UAE a growth engine for Israeli industry
“I tell my Israeli friends that the UAE can be an important growth engine for Israel’s economy and industry. We have five reasons,” Hayek noted.
“The first is that the UAE has an innovation infrastructure that can adapt to our innovation infrastructure, adding up to one plus one can be eleven [1+1=11]. Second, they can find any capital here. If they’re looking for a partner, sometimes they’re not looking for a partner, but if they’re looking for a partner, this is the place to find them. If you have a good company, you can find the right partners and the right investments here,” he explained.
Third, the envoy noted that businesses can find any type of person here, from carpenters to machine engineers and software engineers. “And if you can’t find them here, it’s easy to bring them here.”
The fourth reason is the availability of raw materials. The ambassador said the UAE is a global trade hub, providing materials at fair prices.
The fifth factor is entering new markets. “These five ingredients are combined; you can only find them here. So I think the UAE will be the growth engine of the Israeli economy, the Israeli industry and the relationship between the two countries,” emphasized Hayek.
CEPA with UAE – Israel’s fastest negotiating
After six months of negotiations, the Ambassador said the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) was signed with the UAE on May 31, 2022, the “fastest agreement between Israel and any similar free trade agreement with other countries”. negotiations”. “Because we have good partners in the UAE.”
CEPA will take effect in the next few months. “But you know, the economy is a matter of expectations. So, when businessmen see and hear CEPA, they are willing to cooperate because they see and understand that there is a solid basis of agreement to support their efforts in economic cooperation.” He pointed out.
According to the UAE Ministry of Economy, the UAE-Israel CEPA is expected to boost bilateral trade by more than $10 billion over five years and add $1.9 billion to the UAE’s GDP over the same period. The UAE’s total exports are expected to grow by 0.5% by 2030.
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