The Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED), in partnership with the Ministry of Economy (MoE), has organized a workshop for private sector companies in line with the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
The UAE-India CEPA, signed earlier this year, will pave the way to increase non-oil bilateral trade volume to $100 billion in the coming 5 years. The agreement is part of the UAE’s plan to sign CEPAs with major global trade partners. MoE plans to sign eight agreements with UAE strategic partners to increase bilateral trade by $11 billion annually.
The agreement covers 11 service sectors and over 100 sub-sectors to stimulate flows between the two markets by eliminating custom tariffs on nearly 80 percent of goods. By end of 2021, non-oil trade between the UAE and India rose by 66 percent to $ 46.2 billion, making India the second-largest trade partner of the UAE, accounting for 9 percent of the country’s total non-oil trade.
Rashed Abdulkarim Al Blooshi Undersecretary – ADDED
“India is amongst the top trade partners of Abu Dhabi and UAE and is one of the largest markets bearing growth opportunities for different sectors. UAE- India CEPA will enhance bilateral trade and open new markets to Abu Dhabi-based private sector companies. Abu Dhabi continues to strengthen its position as a regional and global hub for trade, business, and investment. We launched various initiatives to facilitate trade and ensure ease of doing business by reducing costs and requirements, simplifying procedures, and enabling seamless integration of government services.”
India is the top market for non-oil UAE exports accounting for 13.8 percent of the country’s total exports, and 8.1 percent of UAE re-export volumes. India is the third-largest destination for UAE re-export trade. Indian exports represent 7.4 percent of the UAE imports, placing India as the second largest in this regard.
ADDED’s workshop was attended by Rashed Abdulkarim Al Blooshi, Under-Secretary of ADDED, Sameh Al Qubaisi, Director-General of Economic Affairs at ADDED, Abdulla Alshamsi, Assistant Under-Secretary, Industry Growth at MoE, and several senior officials from MoE and ADDED and representatives of the private sector.
The workshop discussed the main targeted areas of the agreement, including goods, services, rules of origin or preferential certificate of origin, and safeguard measures.
