According to UAE Minister of Economy Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) signed between the UAE and India will help reduce custom tariffs by 90% and boost trade between the two countries. This apart, CEPA will also increase non-oil trade from $45 billion in 2021 to $100 billion in the next five years.
The agreement signed on February 18, 2022, came into effect on May 1, 2022, with the arrival of the first tariff-free imports.
Right from the unveiling of the CEPA programme as part of the ‘Projects of the 50’ initiative, the UAE has been in discussions to ink CEPA with numerous nations of strategic importance, both regionally and internationally. In fact, the country intends to sign eight agreements by 2022.
In an interview with WAM, the minister stated that the UAE picked India to sign the first CEPA to emphasize the two nations’ strategic connections.
The CEPA between the UAE and India will boost bilateral trade by 1.7 percent, or $9 billion, by 2030, while also increasing the UAE’s exports by 1.5 percent and imports by 3.8 percent. By 2030, it is expected to generate 140,000 employment vacancies for people with specialized skills in the UAE’s most promising industries.
Business services, professional services, accounting, real estate, advertising, communications, building and construction, related services, educational services, environmental services, financial services, insurance, social and health services and travel and tourism services are among the 11 service sectors covered by the CEPA.
Gold, diamonds, jewellery, equipment, electrical appliances, petroleum and polymers, and minerals such as iron, steel, and aluminium are the most common commodities exported from the UAE to India and imported from India.
The two nations account for more than a quarter of all diamond, gold and jewellery commerce worldwide. According to statistics, three percent of the UAE’s commerce during the COVID-19 epidemic was with India, which is one of the world’s top 15 food exporters.
As for overall commerce, India ranks second in food commodities and goods with the UAE, and is one of the most significant suppliers in the UAE’s food commodities market, accounting for 10% of the UAE’s total imports of food commodities and products.
