A year after the India-UAE CEPA deal

 

On February 18, 2022, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and India signed the CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement) in order to boost the bilateral trade deal between the two countries.

His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed, the President of the UAE, and His Excellency Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi witnessed the signing of the landmark agreement.

What happened after the signing of the agreement? CEPA came into force on May 1, 2022. India’s non-petroleum exports to the UAE increased by 5% to $15.2 billion during the June-January period. The data showcased the impact of CEPA. Non-petroleum imports from June to January also increased by 3% to $16.8 billion.

In the year since the signing, India’s total exports to the UAE grew 26 per cent and re-exports increased by 10 per cent. According to the Dubai Chamber of Commerce, 11,000 new Indian companies registered in 2022.

Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, the Minister of State for Foreign Trade of the United Arab Emirates, said that CEPA helped to increase wider global cooperation between India and the UAE.

Across the nine months since CEPA’s full implementation, the two countries have launched several initiatives, including the I2U2 program and a trilateral agreement with France to work in the field of climate and energy.

To mark the first anniversary of CEPA, Al Zeyoudi said, “The CEPA deal was concluded to reflect our ambitions by reducing tariffs on over 80 per cent of product lines and creating new opportunities for service exports and investment flow.”

According to the UAE and Indian authorities, CEPA would lead to an increase in bilateral trade from $60 billion to $100 billion.

In recent years, the two countries also agreed to deepen their bilateral cooperation in the fight against terrorism, terrorist financing, violence, hatred and extremism.