EFTA and Palestinian Authority sign bilateral agricultural agreements at EFTA Ministerial

The EFTA - Palestinian Authority Joint Committee adopted Decision No 1/2026 amending Protocol A on Processed Agricultural Products under the Interim Agreement on Free Trade between the EFTA States and the Palestinian Authority on 9 June 2026.

The agreements were signed on behalf of the Palestinian Authority by Mohammed Al-Amour, Minister of National Economy, and for the EFTA States by Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iceland, Espen Barth Eide, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway, and Guy Parmelin, President, Federal Councillor and Head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research of Switzerland, respectively. The agreement between Switzerland and the Palestinian Authority will also be applicable to Liechtenstein by virtue of the Swiss-Liechtenstein Customs Treaty of 1923.

Through the updated agreements and the accompanying Joint Committee Decision, all Parties seek to further deepening their trade relations in the field of agriculture. The revision extends treatment to Palestinian agricultural exporters equivalent to that accorded to other free trade partners of the EFTA States in the region, strengthening the Palestinian Authority's integration into EFTA's network of preferential trade.

"The EFTA States and Palestine share a long partnership, rooted in our shared commitment to open trade and Palestine's integration into the rules-based international trading system," said Foreign Minister Gunnarsdóttir, Chair of the EFTA Ministerial meeting in Reykjavík.

The Interim Agreement on Free Trade between the EFTA States and the Palestinian Authority, including bilateral agreements on trade in agricultural products, was concluded in 1998 and entered into force in 1999. It remains one of EFTA's oldest free trade agreements. The process of updating the bilateral agricultural agreements was launched at the sixth Joint Committee meeting in Ramallah, Palestine, in June 2019. Trade between the EFTA States and the Palestinian Authority amounted to EUR 66 million in 2025. EFTA's main exports to Palestine consist of tobacco and pharmaceutical products. Palestine's primary exports to the EFTA States include fruits and nuts, as well as fats and oils.

Read more about merchandise trade between EFTA and the Palestinian Authority here.

Laura Störi