Riyadh – Mubasher: The UAE and Saudi Arabia signed an authorised economic operator (AEO) agreement to improve the customs cooperation between both countries, state-run news agency WAM reported recently.

The AEO operates as a federal programme in the UAE, connecting it with other countries in the areas of trade and customs.

The agreement was signed by Ali Saeed Mattar Al Niyadi, chairman of the Federal Customs Authority, and Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al Haqbany, governor of the General Customs Authority, in Riyadh.

The deal also aims at facilitating trade, in implementation of the outcomes of the Al Azm Retreat, approved by the Saudi-Emirati Coordination Council.

“We are witnessing the actual implementation of the outcomes of the retreat, which were approved and adopted by the council. Today’s signing is a joint acknowledgement of our AEOs,” Al Niyadi commented on the deal.

He added that such a deal will provide many advantaged for the two GCC nations, including commercial exchange, and reducing export and import costs.

It is worth noting that non-oil trade between the UAE and the kingdom hit AED 107.4 billion ($29.4 billion) during the full-year 2018.