Regional conflict has not derailed efforts to forge closer trade ties but has in fact signalled the need to accelerate a free-trade agreement, the European Union’s envoy to the UAE has said. The UAE and EU are seeking to secure the first free trade agreement between the bloc and a Gulf country this year following the conclusion of a sixth round of talks. “We haven’t been derailed by the geopolitical shifts in the region,” ambassador Lucie Berger told The National in an interview marking Europe Day. “On the contrary, I think we are even more serious, if it was at all possible, about concluding the agreement,” she added.

Artificial intelligence, renewable energy and cybersecurity are among the main avenues of co-operation between the bloc and the UAE. Such a timeline to complete the agreement by the end of the year would be a striking departure from the EU’s typically protracted negotiations. The ambassador said she was hoping a strategic partnership agreement between the bloc and the UAE would also include a chapter on defence and security that would include renewed co-operation in this area, particularly in light of the regional conflict.

The UAE is the EU’s largest export destination and investment partner in the region, with bilateral trade in goods estimated at €57 billion ($67 billion). About 200,000 European citizens live in the UAE, the largest concentration in the Middle East. The EU is also seeking to expand defence co-operation with the UAE and Ms Berger described it as an area where new opportunities have emerged. The first EU defence technology forum was held in Abu Dhabi this week. “It was the first EU-wide forum on defence technology that we held outside of Europe and the interest in this initiative was extremely high,” she said.