UAE, India to reach trade and investment agreement in Dec
The UAE and India expect to reach an agreement by December 2021 to boost bilateral trade to $100 billion in five years with a target to ink the landmark economic partnership deal in March 2022.
The two sides had started discussion in earnest on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) on Thursday with Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, meeting Piyush Goyal, India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, to outline how the two nations can accelerate twoway trade, investment and economic opportunity.
Dr Al Zeyoudi also held productive talks with Jyotiraditya Scindiam, Minister of Civil Aviation, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, and Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance, where the potential for deepening ties in investment, technology and aviation were discussed.
Al Zeyoudi said India is a key economic partner for the UAE and trade between the two nations has been continuing for centuries. “India is also our second-largest trading partner, accounting for 9.0 per cent of its total foreign trade and 13 per cent of non-oil exports. We anticipate that the value of the UAE’S non-oil trade with India will rise from pre-pandemic levels of $40 billion to over $100 billion within five years of an agreement being signed,” the minister was quoted by Indian media as saying.
Al Zeyoudi expressed optimism that a comprehensive and mutually beneficial agreement can be reached by December 2021 and a deal can be signed in March 2022 subject to the completion of legal procedures and ratification by both parties.
The minister said the UAE seeks to establish bilateral trade agreements that are comprehensive in nature. They include trade in goods, services and closer cooperation in priority areas that support our growth and sustainable development. India has an attractive and competitive services sector that makes an important contribution to the country’s economy. Specific sectors that will be included in CEPA are still under discussion and this will be finalised in due course as talks progress.