Negotiation Council to unify UAE requirements for next month's first round of FTA negotiations in Abu Dhabi

Earlier last week, the Ministry of Finance and Industry presented a memo to the cabinet to form this council. The cabinet approved the memo and appointed H.E. Dr. Mommed Khalfan bin Kharbash and H.E. Sheikha Lubna Al Qassimi, UAE Minister of Economy and Planning, as the council's co-chairs. The council comprises of a number of federal and local ministries as well as other relevant parties.

The cabinet assigned the negotiation council to set up several negotiation sub- teams to oversee the sectors that would be subject to negotiation. These include intellectual property, customs, standards and metrology, services, agriculture, labour, environment, textile, government procurement, telecommunications and e-Commerce, investment, and financial services such as banks and insurance.

"The sub-teams will be set up in order to formulate a comprehensive UAE negotiation strategy, under which all relevant sectors in the negotiation will be dealt with separately and thoroughly," added Dr. Kharbash.

The teams will organize workshops and conduct debates with relevant public and private parties in order to finalize their position and requirements from the free trade agreement.

Dr. Kharbash also said that the council is made of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance and Industry, Ministry of Economy and Planning, Ministry of Information and Culture, Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Endowment and Islamic Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Transportation, the UAE Central Bank, Federal Customs Authority, the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology, Federal Authority of Environment, Abu Dhabi Department of Economy and Planning, Dubai Ports and Customs and Free Zone Corporation, Telecommunications Regulating Authority, Environmental Research & Wildlife Development Agency, and Tejari.com.

"The free trade agreement with the US will grant the UAE access to the largest consuming market in the world which will not only foster our bilateral trade and economic relations, but will also impact positively on UAE production and exports," highlighted Dr. Kharbash.

The UAE cabinet ratified in April 2004 a UAE-US Trade and Investment Frame Work Agreement (TIFA) after it was signed in Washington in March 2004. The TIFA aims to foster an open and predictable environment for international trade and investment and economic cooperation between the two countries. A joint council has been created to serve as a forum for permanent dialogue between UAE and US officials with the aim of expanding trade and investment between the two countries.