UAE TO START CO-OPERATION TALKS WITH SOUTH KOREA

▶ Negotiations are expected to be finalised by the end of next year

The UAE and South Korea agreed to begin talks on expanding co-operation in priority areas from climate change mitigation to advanced technology with the aim of creating new investment and trade opportunities.

Negotiations on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement are expected to begin within two months and to be finalised by the end of 2022, Thani Al Zeyoudi, the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, said in Dubai on Thursday.

The talks aim to provide a “mut_ually beneficial liberalisation of trade in goods, services and investment”, the two countries said. “There are many new areas of co-operation we are now pursuing that can provide opportunities for investment and growth – from Industry 4.0 technologies such as artificial intelligence and automation, to next-generation medicine, AgriTech and renewable energy,” Mr Al Zeyoudi said.

The move is part of the UAE’s drive to seek economic agreements with eight countries – including South Korea, India and the UK – as the global economy recovers and trade rebounds from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The volume of trade between the UAE and South Korea reached more than $9.4 billion in 2020 and has grown to more than $2bn in the first six months of 2021, according to government data.

Cepa will deepen the strategic partnership between the two countries that began in March 2018 and boost their economic resilience.

“Last year, the UAE was South Korea’s largest trading partner in the Middle East,” said Yeo Han-Koo, South Korea’s Minister for Trade. He said this would be the first such agreement with a country in the Middle East, “that shows the special importance that we are putting into this Cepa”.

Once finalised, the UAE-South Korea agreement will “open up each other’s markets for goods and services, modernise the rules of trade and ultimately ... strengthen the economic competitiveness of our two countries”, he said.

“Cepa will intensify futureoriented co-operation between our two countries.”

The agreement will cover a joint response to climate change, including co-operation on renewable energy, developing green technology and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the minister said.

Cepa will also cover digitalisation and advanced technologies, especially as applied in sectors such as logistics, pharmaceuticals, e-commerce, automation and AI, Mr Al Zeyoudi said.

“The talks represent the beginning of a process that will lead to stronger, deeper and broader trade and investment ties,” he said. “We believe removing trade barriers and supply chain bottlenecks, promoting the free movement of goods, accelerating foreign direct investment, attracting talent and empowering start-ups and entrepreneurs will benefit us both.”

The comprehensive deal will tackle broad economic co-operation in investments, small-and-medium enterprises, sustainability as well as trade in goods and services.

The partnership agreement aims to boost the economic partnership between the two countries to a minimum of $20bn in the next three to five years, up from about $9bn currently, Mr Al Zeyoudi told The National.

“That is our ultimate goal. For sure it’s not only about trade volumes, we want to make sure we’re taking the investment to the next level,” he said, citing partnerships in hydrogen, agri-business and renewable energy.