Public Consultation on the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Accession to the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA)

Closed on 14 January 2026

1.     Introduction

1.1         The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) is seeking feedback from Singapore companies on their priorities and experiences with regard to the UAE’s digital economy, and the opportunities these companies wish to tap on. This information will inform discussions on the UAE’s application to accede to the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA) and allow us to better support Singapore businesses operating in or keen to expand to the UAE market. The public consultation period is from 27 November 2025 to 14 January 2026.

2.     Background

2.1            Singapore, New Zealand and Chile signed the DEPA in June 2020, with the Republic of Korea joining as the Agreement as its fourth Party in May 2024. The DEPA establishes common digital trade rules and fosters cooperation on emerging issues in the digital economy to maintain a well-integrated and connected environment for our businesses to engage in digital trade.

2.2         The UAE applied to join the DEPA on 7 June 2023 and its Accession Working Group (AWG), chaired by Singapore, was established on 30 June 2025. The AWG, comprising government representatives from each DEPA Party, formally commences the accession process for the UAE and examines its compliance with the DEPA’s standards and commitments.

2.3       The expansion of the DEPA network will enable businesses to engage more seamlessly across a larger number of digital economies and foster deeper digital integration, making it easier for Singapore businesses to leverage digital trade and reach customers across borders. To this end, the DEPA aims to achieve three key outcomes. First, it aims to facilitate end-to-end digital trade by promoting the use of paperless trade and digital tools across all stages of the trading process. Second, it aims to enable open and secure data flows by ensuring that partners do not impose unnecessary restrictions on cross border data flows and require businesses to locate data servers in their jurisdiction as a condition of doing business. Third, it aims to build trust in the digital system by promoting the development of frameworks and regulations that allow businesses to adopt emerging technologies and expand their operations in a trusted and responsible manner while protecting consumers’ interests and personal data.

3.     Invitation to Provide Feedback

3.1         MTI invites Singapore-registered businesses and members of the public to provide feedback on issues relating to the UAE’s digital economy such as paperless trading, cross-border data flows, requirements for data localisation, and emerging technologies, among others.

3.2       The feedback provided will be helpful in assessing the UAE’s compliance with the DEPA’s standards and commitments.

3.3       Please note that all submissions received may be published and attributed to the respective respondents unless they expressly request MTI not to do so. As such, if respondents would like: (i) their whole submission, or part of it; or (ii) their identity; or both, to be kept confidential, please state so in the submission. In addition, MTI reserves the right not to publish any submissions received where MTI considers it not in the public’s interest to do so, such as if the submission appears to be libellous or offensive.