Prime Highlights
- UAE-Ukraine CEPA takes effect, boosting bilateral trade and investment from July 1.
- Trade deal to add $369 million to UAE GDP and $874 million to Ukraine’s economy by 2031.
Key Facts
- 99% of Ukrainian imports of UAE goods and 97% of Ukrainian exports become duty-free.
- UAE’s 18th CEPA supports its goal of Dh4 trillion in non-oil trade by 2031.
Background
The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the UAE and Ukraine will take effect on July 1, opening the door to stronger trade and investment ties between the two countries.
The Ministry of Foreign Trade said the deal would create fresh openings for private-sector collaboration and reinforce the UAE’s standing as a global trade hub. The two nations signed the agreement in February last year.
Minister of Foreign Trade Thani Al Zeyoudi said the agreement marked a landmark step in the countries’ economic partnership and would help revive trade flows, open new investment channels and encourage cooperation across key sectors for the benefit of both nations.
The deal also seeks to support Ukraine’s economy, which has suffered heavily since Russia’s full invasion in 2022, when the country’s real gross national product fell by 28.8 per cent.
Kyiv has since worked to stabilise its economy, and the International Monetary Fund expects real GDP growth of 5.3 per cent this year.
Under the agreement, most tariffs between the two countries will be removed or lowered. Around 99 per cent of Ukrainian imports of UAE goods and 97 per cent of Ukrainian exports to the UAE will become duty-free immediately.
The deal is projected to add $369 million to the UAE’s GDP and $874 million to Ukraine’s by 2031.
Non-oil trade between the countries stood at $346.8 million in 2025, well below the $904.4 million recorded in 2021, leaving room for growth. The agreement is the UAE’s 18th Cepa to come into force out of 37 signed so far, as the country works toward its target of Dh4 trillion in non-oil foreign trade by 2031.
