The UAE has been part of a number of bilateral and multilateral trade agreements, including with partner countries in the GCC. Under the Greater Arab Free Trade Area Agreement (GAFTA), the UAE has had free trade agreements with Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Morocco and Jordan. The UAE has also signed agreements with other countries such as: Islamic Republic of Pakistan (2006), Republic of Algeria (2007), Republic of Azerbaijan (2011), Republic of India (2012), Republic of Kazakhstan (2012), Republic of Armenia (2013)), Republic of Maldives (2014), Republic of South Korea (2015), and Kingdom of the Netherlands (2015). In June 2009, the GCC signed an FTA with the European Free Trade Association (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland), which will be implemented from 1 July 2015.
In addition, the UAE has signed free trade agreements with Singapore and New Zealand and is conducting negotiations for the establishment of a free trade zone with the European Union, Japan, China, India, Pakistan, Turkey, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay. and Paraguay. The UAE has also signed a number of agreements on protection and promotion of investment and prevention of double taxation. The UAE also entered into a General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in 1994, and then became a member of the World Trade Organization in April 1996.