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A preferential entry regime will be established for several products exported from Armenia to the UAE
The Executive has approved the draft law of the Republic of Armenia on ratifying the Agreement "On Economic Partnership between the Eurasian Economic Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the United Arab Emirates, of the other part," signed in Minsk on June 27, 2025. The purpose of the agreement is to liberalize and simplify trade in goods between the parties, including through the reduction of tariff and non-tariff barriers, to support economic and trade cooperation between the parties, and to encourage the expansion of trade between them. The agreement pays special attention to the interaction between small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as the obligation to inform businesses promptly about the opportunities created by the agreement and the applicable regulations. As a result of the signing of the agreement, the EAEU member states receive preferential access conditions covering 86% of the product nomenclature, with an export coverage of 98% to the UAE for the Eurasian Economic Union. The preferential export coverage from Armenia to the UAE will amount to 95% of current exports; concessions do not cover the remaining 5%. As of 2023, a preferential access regime will be established for 217 of the 270 products exported from Armenia to the UAE upon the agreement's entry into force. As a result, if export volumes are maintained, Armenian exporters will be directly subsidized by approximately $500,000, and the average customs duty on products exported from Armenia to the UAE will decrease from 6% to 2.6%. As for agricultural products, the proposals submitted by the Armenian side mainly include those products that are of primary interest to the RA export, in particular: other fresh fruits, including strawberries, wild strawberries, etc., lactose, fresh tomatoes, fruit juices, honey, jams, mineral water with sugar, live plants, apples, apricots, sauces, etc.
The proposal to sign the draft additional agreement No. 2 to the agreement on the provision of a grant from the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development for financing the project "Improving the quality of financial reporting of public sector organizations of the Republic of Armenia" was approved. The goal of implementing the program envisioned by the agreement is to contribute to increasing the efficiency of public finance management in the Republic of Armenia. In this context, the full implementation of the new public sector accounting system is of great importance. The new system will enable the compilation of reliable financial statements, which will assess the economic condition of both individual public sector organizations, ministries, and the state.
The government has approved the draft law of the Republic of Armenia "On Ratification of the Agreement between the Governments of Armenia and Georgia on the Readmission of Persons Residing Without Permission," signed in Tbilisi on July 21, 2025. It will enable joint and coordinated steps to be taken in the areas of detection and organization of the return of both own citizens and third-country nationals, as well as stateless persons, who are in an irregular status in the territories of the two states. It will create a legal basis for the regulation of the readmission process by defining the list of documents confirming the citizenship of the parties, the list of documents proving the existence of grounds for readmission of third-country nationals and stateless persons, the procedure for the escorted transfer of persons, the method for conducting interviews, the form of a request for readmission of a person, the deadlines and other issues. It will contribute to the development of practical cooperation in the field of migration.
The proposal to sign a letter of agreement between the Republic of Armenia and the Asian Development Bank on amendments to the loan agreements "Loan No. 3284-ARM(COL). Seismic Safety Improvement Program" and "Loan 4351-ARM. Seismic Safety Improvement Program (additional financing)" was approved. The primary and key indicator of the project is the construction or reinforcement of at least 46 schools, along with the provision of safe educational conditions for approximately 20,000 students. According to the loan agreement, all schools included in the project must undergo international expertise and receive a certificate of resistance to a magnitude nine earthquake. So far, the construction of 23 schools has been completed within the framework of the project. Construction work on 23 schools is currently underway. So far, safe educational conditions have been created for about 15,000 students in the schools that have been put into operation.
