Armenia, UAE to sign agreement on trade in services and on  investments 

ArmInfo.  Armenia intends to conclude an agreement with the United Arab Emirates on trade in services and investments. The RA government considered it appropriate to sign this document at its meeting on August 7.

The rationale for the draft decision notes that the agreement is a  bilateral international document, the conclusion of which was agreed  upon during the negotiations on the agreement on economic partnership  between the Eurasian Economic Union and its member states, on the one  hand, and the United Arab Emirates, on the other. The purpose of the  agreement is to liberalize the processes of trade in services and  investments between the Republic of Armenia and the United Arab  Emirates.

The document envisages the mutual elimination of obstacles in the  sphere of trade in services and investments, increasing economic  efficiency and creating favorable conditions, expanding economic  cooperation and obtaining mutually beneficial benefits, as well as  promoting the intensification of bilateral economic relations and the  opening of new markets on both sides. The agreement will also  stimulate entrepreneurial initiative by regulating the issues of  promotion and mutual protection of investments. The document includes  separate chapters on trade in services, investment, dispute  resolution, and transparency.

In the annexes on services agreed upon during the negotiations and on  the types of services included therein, the parties are ready to  provide relevant benefits compared to the commitments assumed by the  Republic of Armenia and the United Arab Emirates as members of the  World Trade Organization.

In particular, the Armenian side will provide benefits to the Emirati  side in the areas of agriculture, forestry, as well as in the areas  of engineering, scientific and technical consulting, healthcare,  education, environmental protection, and postal services. The Emirati  side will provide benefits to the Armenian side in the areas of  computer, scientific and technical consulting, equipment repair,  cartography, telephony, and some simplifications are also envisaged  for the provision of services in the areas of law, construction,  accounting, and auditing.