UAE-EAEU trade climbed 16% to $33.6 billion in 2025, with further growth recorded in 2026.
Abu Dhabi: The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the UAE and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) officially came into force on Tuesday, establishing a new preferential trade framework linking the UAE with Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia.
The agreement is designed to boost merchandise trade by reducing or eliminating customs duties on a wide range of goods, simplifying trade procedures and removing unnecessary barriers to cross-border commerce.
It also establishes provisions covering customs cooperation, e-commerce and broader economic cooperation, while supporting greater participation by small and medium-sized enterprises in international trade.
Under the new framework, the UAE and EAEU member states will provide preferential market access across more than 86 per cent of tariff lines, representing around 96 per cent of the value of goods currently traded between the two sides.
The agreement is expected to strengthen economic ties and help lift annual UAE-EAEU trade to nearly $50 billion by 2032.
Trade growth
Non-oil trade between the UAE and the EAEU reached $33.6 billion in 2025, an increase of 16 per cent from $29 billion in 2024 and more than four times the level recorded in 2021.
UAE imports from EAEU countries totalled $17.8 billion in 2025, while re-exports reached $13.7 billion.
Trade momentum continued into 2026, with bilateral non-oil trade rising 6.2 per cent year on year to $14.3 billion during the first half of the year.
The Economic Partnership Agreement was signed in Minsk on June 27, 2025.
Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of Foreign Trade, said the agreement would build on the expanding commercial relationship and create new opportunities for exporters, manufacturers and supply-chain partners.
“By improving market access, simplifying customs procedures and establishing clear, transparent rules, we are enabling businesses to move goods more efficiently and compete across a market spanning five important Eurasian economies,” he said.
Al Zeyoudi said the agreement also underlined the UAE’s commitment to open, rules-based trade and strengthening economic relations with high-potential markets.
“It will strengthen supply-chain resilience, support food security and create new opportunities for collaboration in manufacturing, agriculture, logistics, automotive products, technology and precious metals,” he said.
A gateway to wider markets
The agreement gives UAE merchandise exporters preferential access to the EAEU customs market, while offering EAEU producers a gateway to markets across the Middle East, Africa and Asia through the UAE’s trade and logistics network.
The deal forms part of the UAE’s wider Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) programme, a central pillar of the country’s foreign trade strategy.
The UAE aims to increase its non-oil foreign trade to Dh4 trillion ($1.1 trillion) by 2031, as it continues to expand its network of international trade partnerships.
Since launching the CEPA programme in September 2021, the UAE has steadily expanded its network of trade partnerships across Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas.
The government says the programme is designed to promote open, rules-based trade, support economic diversification and give UAE businesses greater access to high-growth markets around the world.
