Abu Dhabi, December 14 — The United Arab Emirates and the European Union formally launched negotiations for a Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA), officials announced on December 14.
The opening of talks was declared by EU Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica, who oversees the bloc’s relations with Gulf states, and Lana Nusseibeh, Minister of State in the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The SPA process is intended to deepen and institutionalize cooperation across a broad set of priorities while running alongside ongoing negotiations on an EU–UAE Free Trade Agreement.
Organizers say the SPA will create a comprehensive institutional framework for UAE–EU cooperation and implements the agenda set at the 2024 EU–Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Brussels. It also advances objectives from the EU’s 2022 Joint Communication on a Strategic Partnership with the Gulf and the 2018 cooperation arrangement between the European External Action Service and the UAE foreign ministry.
Both sides emphasized commitments to strengthen ties in trade, investment and humanitarian assistance, and highlighted their potential to serve as a bridge linking Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa. The agreement is expected to boost collaboration on regional peace and stability, uphold multilateralism and international law, and accelerate work on connectivity, research and innovation, energy, green and digital transitions, and artificial intelligence.
Officials said they aim for an ambitious, future-focused partnership to deepen enduring UAE–EU relations for the benefit of Europeans, Emiratis and the wider shared neighbourhood. (Reported by ANI/WAM)
