India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement

February 17, 2022

On February 18, 2022, India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are set to firm up a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), during a virtual summit.

Highlights

Virtual Summit will be held between Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Both leaders are likely to lay out their vision of the historic and friendly bilateral relations, at a time when UAE is marking 50^th anniversary of its foundation and India is celebrating 75 years of its independence.
Both the leaders will discuss bilateral cooperation and exchange views on international and regional issues of mutual interest.

Signing of Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA)

At the summit, both the leaders will sign the CEPA, on which negotiations were launched in September 2021 and now stands completed. This agreement would take economic and commercial engagement of both the countries to next level.

India-UAE-recent development

UAE is India’s third-largest trade partner. Both the countries have collaborated closely during Covid-19 pandemic in critical areas of food security and healthcare. Bilateral trade, energy relations and investment have remained robust. Both the sides are also strengthening their cooperation in new areas of start-ups, renewable energy, fintech, etc. India is participating in Dubai Expo 2020, with one of the largest pavilions.

India–United Arab Emirates relations

Relations between both the countries were traditionally close. They had enjoyed close and friendly ties on the basis of historic and cultural ties. Barter trade for clothes & spices in exchange of dates & pearls and people-to-people contacts from the region have existed for centuries. Relations flourished with the creation of federation in 1971. Today, Indians make up ‘largest minority ethnic group’ in the UAE, accounting for around 38% of UAE’s total residents.

Trade Relations

UAE is currently India’s third-largest trading partner. It is also India’s second-largest export destination after the US. India was UAE’s second-largest trading partner in 2019. Furthermore, UAE is the eighth-largest investor in India. India’s major exports to the UAE include petroleum products, stones, minerals, precious metals, gems & jewellery, food items like sugar, cereals, tea, meat, fruits & vegetables, seafood, textiles etc. India imports crude petroleum, petroleum products, stones, minerals, precious metals, gems and jewellery, chemicals, wood and wood products.

« Previous Post Next Post »