UAE non-oil trade with BRICS countries reached $312 billion in 2025 — up from $243 billion a year earlier, a 28.5% jump. State news agency WAM released the figures ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on 12–13 September 2026, where the Emirates take part as a full member since January 2024.
The headline
According to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), reprinted by Gulf News on 11 September 2026, UAE non-oil trade with BRICS members exceeded $312 billion in 2025 versus $243 billion in 2024. The bloc now accounts for around 31% of the UAE's total non-oil external trade, 34% of imports, 23% of non-oil exports and 28% of re-exports.
The release was timed for the 18th BRICS Summit in India's capital, New Delhi, on 12–13 September 2026. The UAE joined the bloc as a full member on 1 January 2024.
BRICS by the numbers
WAM sums up the bloc's economic weight in three figures:
- around 49.5% of the world's population;
- around 40% of global GDP;
- around 26% of global trade.
For the UAE, membership means a single political channel to a third of global trade and half the world's population — alongside the bilateral track of CEPA trade agreements that the Emirates have been building out since 2021.
Partner-country breakdown
China. Non-oil trade with China reached $111.5 billion in 2025 — up 24.5% year on year and crossing the $100 billion mark for the first time. The drivers are trade, investment, industry, technology and logistics.
India. Non-oil trade with India was Dh107.5 billion in the first half of 2026. The driver is the UAE–India CEPA, which took effect on 1 May 2022 and eliminates tariffs on roughly 97% of tariff lines while simplifying rules of origin for preferential certificates.
Russia. Non-oil trade in 2025 was $20.4 billion — up 77.7% year on year and almost double the $10.8 billion recorded in 2022. The Trade in Services and Investment Agreement between the two countries is now in force, alongside the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the UAE and the Eurasian Economic Union.
Brazil. Bilateral trade exceeded $5.4 billion, alongside expanding cooperation in investment, infrastructure and logistics.
How CEPA complements the BRICS track
Comprehensive economic partnership agreements are the second, legally hard layer of these ties. The CEPA programme has produced 38 signed deals since its September 2021 launch. Several are with BRICS members: in-force CEPAs with India (since 2022) and Indonesia (since 2023), plus a 2025 deal with the Eurasian Economic Union — covering Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan.
The distinction between BRICS and CEPA matters for business. BRICS supplies the political framing and dialogue: access to the bloc's financial initiatives and joint infrastructure. CEPAs supply tariff preferences at the border — provided the goods meet rules of origin and are issued a preferential certificate. The two tracks work in tandem: BRICS widens the map of markets; CEPAs turn it into real duty savings.
Logistics: where transit times shrink
A separate line in the release covers the UAE's role as a logistics hub for BRICS. Strategic location, ports and multimodal corridors allow shorter delivery times between BRICS countries and global markets.
The release cites one concrete example — the route via the Port of Karachi in Pakistan to Uzbekistan: container cargo transit takes around 10 days. For Central Asian re-exports going through Dubai, that is a marked improvement over classic overland routing.
Investment: where BRICS money enters the UAE
The UAE's membership also boosts inbound investment from BRICS countries. Sectors flagged by WAM: mining, transport, financial services, information technology, clean energy and the automotive industry. All of them align with the priorities of the UAE economy in 2026 — the new economy, innovation and structural diversification.
What this changes for companies operating through the UAE
The practical takeaways are not loud, but they are specific.
- The market map expands predictably. The BRICS track is reinforced by bilateral CEPAs with the bloc's largest members. Re-export and manufacturing under preferences get clear rails into India (since 2022), Indonesia (since 2023) and — once ratified — the EAEU.
- Logistics lanes are shorter than they look. UAE multimodal corridors already cut transit from Pakistan to Central Asia to around 10 days. That changes the economics of Central Asian and East African re-exports.
- Investment priorities converge with BRICS. Mining, transport, financial services, IT, clean energy — the sectors the UAE wants inbound capital in and invests in outbound. These are the natural entry points for foreign investors coming through the UAE.
Open questions
Two things the WAM release does not settle:
- the composition of the $243bn → $312bn jump by product group — the official split between re-exports, direct imports and exports has not been disclosed;
- the effective date of the UAE–EAEU CEPA (signed in 2025) — which determines when preferences kick in; the UAE's practice on other CEPAs shows a 9–24 month lag from signing to entry into force.
Where to verify
- Emirates News Agency WAM — Business & Economy section: wam.ae/en/section/business-economy;
- Ministry of Economy of the UAE — moec.gov.ae;
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the UAE — mofa.gov.ae.
This article is for information only and does not constitute investment or legal advice. Verify the underlying release with the Emirates News Agency (WAM) and consult your own adviser on specific situations.
