Canberra, Sep 17 (IANS): Australia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have reached a deal on a free trade agreement.

Don Farrell, Australia's Minister for Trade and Tourism, on Tuesday announced that negotiations on the Australia-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement have concluded, Xinhua news agency reported.

He said at a press conference in Canberra that the deal would eliminate tariffs on more than 99 per cent of Australian products entering the UAE.

"This is the first trade agreement with the Middle East," Farrell said. "The UAE is not only our largest trade and investment partner in the Middle East, but it is always one of our most important strategic diplomatic and defence partners in the region."

According to the government, Australian exports to the UAE are expected to increase by 678 million Australian dollars (US$457.3 million) per year under the trade agreement.

Additionally, Farrell said it would open up investment from the UAE's sovereign wealth funds in Australia's critical minerals sector.

"The UAE has some of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world. A trade agreement with the UAE will facilitate investment, which is important to achieving the government's ambition of becoming a renewable energy superpower," he said in a statement.

Two-way trade between Australia and the UAE was worth 9.9 billion Australian dollars in 2023 and two-way investment was worth 20.6 billion Australian dollars.

Farrell said both nations are working on formalising the legal treaty text in preparation for signing later in 2024.