Abu Dhabi
Hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s arrival in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said its economic partnership with India is “an important milestone in the history of both countries.” “. UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zayoudi said in an interview that UAE-India non-oil trade is expected to reach 100 billion US dollars per year by 2030.
Thani bin Ahmed Al Zayoudi said the UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) was designed to usher in a new era of growth and opportunity. CEPA is an agreement between India and the United Arab Emirates signed on February 18, 2022, and entered into force on May 1, 2022. The agreement was signed between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Speaking about the success of CEPA between India and UAE, Dr. “There is no doubt that the UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement will be considered an important milestone in the history of both countries,” said Thani Al Zayodi. “By eliminating or reducing tariffs on 80 percent of goods, removing unnecessary barriers to trade, creating new platforms for investment and opening up government procurement to each other’s private sector, the UAE-India CEPA will usher in a new era of development.” Highlighting the key outcomes of CEPA between India and the UAE, the Minister said that bilateral trade flows have increased and CEPA has added considerable flexibility to East-West supply chains and developed a new trade corridor that will connect Asia. which connects the Middle East. and Africa. Dr. Thani Al Zayoudi further emphasized that he sees the impact of UAE investments in India in various sectors including retail, industry, food security, technology, healthcare and logistics. able to
“An increase in bilateral trade flows is clearly one of the most important outcomes. Beyond the numbers, however, it is clear that CEPA has added considerable flexibility to East-West supply chains and created a new trade corridor that connects Asia connecting the East and Africa,” said the UAE minister. “We have seen major logistics providers adding capacity on these routes, including the launch of Maersk’s ‘Shaheen Express’ to connect India to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. included, while SEALED is offering a new India-Dubai-East-Africa (IDEA) route. ” he added.
“Furthermore, we have seen significant new investment flows. In India, I have seen the impact of UAE investment in sectors as diverse as retail, industry, food safety, technology, healthcare and logistics. I am also very excited about this. “I am excited about some of our renewable energy projects, including a 300 MW hybrid plant in Gujarat, which includes an innovative battery energy storage system,” he said. In May 2023, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in an official statement that during the past year, CEPA has had a significant impact on India’s bilateral trade with the UAE and particularly on India’s exports to the UAE. Bilateral trade between India and the UAE has increased from USD 72.9 billion in April 2021-March 2022 to USD 84.5 billion in April 2022-March 2023, the ministry said.
UAE Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zayoudi further stated that the UAE has seen an increase in exports of key products, and said that he expects that its trade and investment with India will continue to grow in the coming years and decades.Responding to a question on how the economic partnership between India and the United Arab Emirates reflects on enhancing the performance of various economic and commercial sectors, the UAE minister said, “On our part, we have increased the export of key product sectors. Real growth has been seen in iron, steel, aluminium and polymers.
Data from the Indian side shows that textiles, gems and jewellery, footwear, fruit and nuts and automobiles all increased.” Therefore, we sincerely hope that trade and investment will continue to grow in the coming years and decades. By opening up new high-growth markets, we will usher in a new era of industrial production, export of services, especially It will create new opportunities for finance, professional services, tourism and consulting, and stimulate growth in many other sectors,” he said. Thani Al Zayodi’s statement came before Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in the United Arab Emirates for an official visit after a two-day visit to France. PM Modi has already taken a flight from France and is scheduled to land in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on Saturday morning (local time). PM Modi will meet UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during his visit.
