UAE, India to explore avenues for strengthening economic ties

Dr Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Foreign Trade, met with the Indian Business Council in the UAE to explore avenues for strengthening economic ties and private sector collaboration between the two countries.

The meeting is part of ongoing efforts to further leverage the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) that entered in to force in 2022, which has been instrumental in significantly deepening bilateral trade and investment.

In the meeting, Al Zeyoudi underscored the importance of India as a trading partner, noting that non-oil trade between the UAE and India reached $65 billion in 2024, which reflected a robust growth of 19.7 per cent compared to the previous year.

“India is an essential partner in the UAE’s trade landscape,” Al Zeyoudi stated. “Today’s discussions were centered on maximising the benefits of our CEPA to foster deeper collaboration between our vibrant private sectors.”

The CEPA with India, which came into force in May 2022, was the first signed with any country as part of the UAE’s ambitious foreign trade programme. It has been pivotal in discovering synergies and unlocking new opportunities in trade and investment across various sectors, including agricultural production, renewable energy and logistics. The agreement has significantly boosted private sector collaboration between the two nations.

Reflecting on the progress made since the CEPA was signed, Al Zeyoudi highlighted several recent key initiatives that underscore the shared commitment to mutually beneficial growth and opportunity: “Since the beginning of this year, our nations have come together to launch the India-UAE Start-Up Series, which helps entrepreneurs access each other’s markets. We have also begun work on Bharat Mart, a significant complex in the UAE aimed at enabling Indian manufacturers and exporters to reach global markets. Additionally, we are enhancing cross-border payment processes and integrating payment systems, and we have launched the UAE-India CEPA Council to ensure we fully leverage the opportunities in front of us.”

The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement has already delivered significant results in strengthening UAE-India economic ties since its entry into force. By reducing trade barriers and enhancing investment flows, the positive impact of the CEPA agreement is evident in the substantial growth of bilateral trade, solidifying the UAE and India’s positions as vital trade partners in the global market.

Meanwhile Dr. Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Foreign Trade, met with the South African Business Council in the UAE to discuss strategies for ways to increase trade, investment, and private sector collaboration between the two nations.

The meeting underscored the UAE’s commitment to strengthening its economic relationships with African nations, recognising the continent’s increasing importance in global trade dynamics.

During the discussions, Al Zeyoudi highlighted the impressive growth in trade between the UAE and South Africa, noting that the UAE’s non-oil foreign trade with South Africa reached $8.5 billion in 2024 - a 14% increase compared to 2023 and a substantial 120 per cent growth since 2019.

WAM