NEW DELHI: India has signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) today. This is the first significant trade pact signed by the Narendra Modi government.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces held a virtual meeting during which they witnessed the signing of the agreements. Negotiations for this pact were completed in just five months.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and UAE’s Minister of Economy Abdulla bin Touq Al-Marri signed the pact in Delhi on Friday during a bilateral meeting.
UAE is India’s third-largest trade partner globally after the US and China. Bilateral trade between both nations stood at $43.3 billion as of 2020-21. In 2019-20 (before the pandemic it stood at $59 billion. The CEPA is likely to raise the total trade up to $100 billion by 2027.
"The CEPA will help both countries in post-pandemic recovery," said Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal.
Nearly 80 per cent of India’s exports to the UAE will be duty-free. The sectors that would benefit include gems and jewellery, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, education, technology start-ups, infrastructure development, financial markets and services, oil and gas, renewables, advanced technology, aviation, defence, and food production.
"The CEPA is a milestone in our two countries' bilateral relations and will open new opportunities in trade and will lead to enhanced investments," said External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar.
UAE’s investments in India are around $17 billion out of which USD 11.67 billion is in the form of Foreign Direct Investment. The remaining funds are as portfolio investments. UAE is the ninth biggest source of FDI in India. The UAE is likely to invest in ports, railways, and industrial corridors in India.