The United Arab Emirates and Russia are strengthening their strategic economic partnership with ambitious plans to double bilateral trade to over $20 billion by 2030. This milestone emerged from the 12th meeting of the Intergovernmental Russia-UAE Commission on Trade, Economic and Technical Cooperation held in Dubai, co-chaired by UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri and Russian Industry and Trade Minister Anton Alikhanov.
Record Trade Growth Signals Economic Momentum
UAE-Russia trade is projected to exceed $10 billion this year, marking significant progress in bilateral relations. The first UAE-Russia Business Forum opened simultaneously in Dubai, bringing together leaders from major companies, investment funds, government ministries, and technology startups from both nations. The forum is set to become an annual event, organized by the Russia-UAE Business Council with support from the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade.
In the first half of 2025, non-oil trade between the UAE and Russia surged to $6.65 billion, representing a remarkable 75.3% year-on-year increase. This demonstrates successful diversification beyond traditional commodities into high-value sectors including finance, logistics, information technology, and emerging technologies.
64 Sectors Opened for Strategic Investment
A groundbreaking Trade in Services and Investment Agreement signed in August 2025 liberalizes 64 Emirati services subsectors for Russian companies, covering research and development, rail transportation, and various manufacturing services. Meanwhile, Russia opened 12 business sectors to UAE investment, particularly in education, healthcare, retail, and hospitality.
Comprehensive Economic Framework
The committee’s agenda addressed extensive cooperation mechanisms across investments like, energy, industry and innovation, food security and agriculture, education, transport and logistics, tourism, sports, culture, environmental protection, and healthcare. The UAE’s business ecosystem offers flexible economic laws allowing 100 percent foreign ownership of companies and an advanced environment covering more than 2,000 economic activities.
Currently, over 13,500 Russian companies operate in the UAE, supported by more than 200 weekly flights connecting UAE cities with Russian destinations, providing robust connectivity infrastructure for the partnership’s ambitious expansion plans through 2030.
