Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a bill ratifying an intergovernmental agreement on services trade and investments between Russia and the UAE.
The intergovernmental agreement was signed in Moscow on August 7, 2025 and is aimed towards the mutual liberalization of access to the services market, allowing services providers from Russia and the UAE to conduct business beyond the obligations taken on by the parties under the corresponding WTO agreement.
The implementation of the agreement will improve access to Russian services and services providers on the UAE market across a greater number of sectors than those covered by the WTO agreement. It will also allow for the creation of new value chains for trade infrastructure and make it possible to set up companies in the UAE using 100% Russian capital in certain services sectors.
The agreement will permit Russian companies to hold 100% shares in the capital of UAE companies in sectors such as legal services, computer services, research and development, technical trials and analysis, technical consulting for computer reservation services, ship and aircraft repairs, passenger and freight rail transport, production-related services and management services.
They will be permitted to hold a 70% share in the capital of UAE companies engaged in complex engineering services, medicine and dentistry, rental services for unmanned vessels or other transport equipment and passenger and marine transportation. In all of the service sectors for which the UAE has taken on specific obligations, excluding finance, telecoms and travel agent and tour operator services, Russian companies will be able to open their own branches.
Russian investors will also be given the right to found companies with 100% Russian capital in certain free trade areas of the UAE, in sectors such as finance, medicine and news agency services.
