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Dubai charts plans to boost trade with Australia

By Shruthi Nair

Negotiations for an “exciting” and “important” Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Australia and the UAE are still under way, according to the chairman of the Australia Arab Chamber of Commerce. 

Mohamed Hage was in Dubai last week with Margaret Beazley, the governor of New South Wales, to sign a trade-boosting memorandum of understanding with Dubai Chambers.

The UAE is Australia’s largest Middle East partner and its 19th largest export market. Non-oil trade between the two countries reached around $4.5 billion in 2022, a growth of 28.6% compared to 2021.

“Australia’s trade in this region has traditionally been in agriculture – food and food products,” Mohamed Hage told AGBI during a video interview.

“We are seeing exchanges in aviation, infrastructure and tourism. We are also looking to expand on the digital economy side,” Hage added.

During the signing ceremony Dubai Chambers announced the opening of a new international office in Sydney, bringing its global network count to 17 representation offices around the world.

This is in line with the ‘Dubai Global’ initiative to establish 50 representative offices in five continents by 2030 and boost non-oil foreign trade from AED 1.4 trillion to AED 2 trillion by 2026.

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