NYSE Euronext, the world’s largest stock exchange group, has become the third Western exchange this month to partner with a Middle Eastern market, a move that represents the trans-Atlantic exchange’s second push into derivatives in a week.

NYSE Euronext said today it had entered a co-operative agreement with the Abu Dhabi Securities Market, the United Arab Emirates exchange group, “to jointly develop and explore new opportunities in trading systems and other related technology, investor and issuer services, and investment products”.