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UAE has signed CEPAs with 20 strategic countries; 6 already operational

'While others link trade to politics and processes, we will continue to pursue the opportunities of tomorrow', UAE minister of foreign trade said

The UAE has signed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPAs) with 20 strategic countries and six of them are operational, said Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE’s Minister of Foreign Trade on Tuesday.

“We have now concluded around 20 CEPAs and six are already in operation, including those with regional powerhouses of India and Turkey. These agreements mean our exporters, factories and investors have greater access to almost a quarter of the world's population. They are also conducting new centres of growth across Asia and the Middle East. The results today certainly vindicate the policy,” he added.

The first Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement signed with India came into force on May 1, 2022. The UAE has signed CEPAs with major trading partners such as Israel, Chile, Colombia, Turkey, Indonesia, Georgia and Cambodia. CEPAs have played a key role in boosting UAE’s trade with major partners through lowering tariffs in bilateral trade.

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The minister was speaking at the 4th Global Trade and Supply Chain organised by The Economist. On the first day of the two-day summit, many other top officials from the UAE, GCC and the US took part in panel discussions on various topics including the role of AI in trade and logistics, globalisation, and talent shortage among others.

“In the first half of 2024, our non-oil foreign trade reached an all-time high of Dh1.4 trillion. This was not only an 11.2 per cent increase in the same period of 2023 but also the six consecutive half years of foreign trade. Importantly, our non-oil exports grew 25 per cent to reach Dh256 billion which is another record", the minister said.

“Global trade growth which averaged just 1.5 per cent in the first six months of 2024, our proactive trade policy helped deliver trade growth eight times greater than the global average. In the last three weeks alone, we have successfully concluded CEPAs with Australia, New Zealand, Serbia and Georgia, which underlines the ambition and the scope of the CEPA programme,” said Al Zeyoudi.

While delivering a keynote speech, the UAE minister added that expanding trade expands all economies. “It is why UAE remains a champion of the multilateral trading system. It is why we are pushing back on isolationism and fragmentations. It is why we're building a new connection from South America right across to Asia Pacific. It is why we remain the most connected country on the planet,” he said.

He added that “the UAE will always take the longer term review. While others link trade to politics and processes, we will continue to pursue the opportunities of tomorrow.”

The minister stressed that the UAE is determined to make its voice heard on important issues because the country’s economic prospects are reliant on its ability to trade freely with the rest of the world.

Al Zeyoudi added that the UAE’s “logistical infrastructure and global connectivity have enabled us to become a major supply chain hub. Importantly, trade is the centre of development of nations around the world, especially in the Global South. Over the last half of a century, we have seen how trade can increase productivity, create jobs, inspire innovation and enhance living standards.”

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