The UAE and the European Union launch strategic partnership agreement negotiations

The UAE and the European Union officially launched the negotiation process on the Strategic Partnership Agreement, as Her Excellency Dubravka Świca, European Union Commissioner for Mediterranean Affairs and Responsible for Relations with the Gulf States, and Her Excellency Lana Nusseibeh, Minister of State, announced the start of these negotiations.

This step represents a pivotal step for consolidating bilateral relations across key areas of common priority, in addition to the existing negotiations on a free trade agreement between the European Union and the UAE.

The Strategic Partnership Agreement provides a comprehensive institutional framework to support the scope of cooperation between the UAE and the European Union, based on the ambitious action plan established by the leaders during the 2024 EU-GCC Summit held in Brussels.

It also contributes to supporting the objectives contained in the European Union Joint Statement for 2022 regarding the strategic partnership with the Gulf states (Gulf Strategy), and the arrangements to enhance cooperation that were signed in 2018 between the European Department of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the UAE.

Her Excellency Dubravka Šoica and Her Excellency Lana Nusseibeh reaffirmed their mutual keenness to deepen and strengthen the strategic partnership between the UAE and the European Union in various fields that include trade, investment and humanitarian aid.

They also emphasized the pivotal role of the two sides in building bridges of communication between Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

The agreement will contribute to enhancing cooperation in order to support regional peace and stability, protect multilateralism and international law, and support efforts to explore opportunities in the fields of communication, research and innovation, energy, green and digital transformation, and artificial intelligence.

The two sides also affirmed their joint commitment to consolidating an ambitious partnership focused on the future, which contributes to strengthening the established ties between the UAE and the European Union, in light of the increasing regional and international challenges, in order to achieve the common benefit of the peoples of Europe, the UAE, and the region.