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UAE-India sails catch trade winds

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UAE-India sails catch trade winds

By Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, ET CONTRIBUTORSLast Updated: Sep 11, 2024, 03:56:00 PM IST

Synopsis
The UAE and India have strengthened their economic ties through the Comprehensive Economic
Partnership Agreement (CEPA), signed in February 2022. This partnership aims to reduce tariffs,
enhance private-sector networks, and boost investments in key sectors like logistics, healthcare,
and AI. The agreement has already led to significant investments and new projects in both
countries.

Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, minister of state for foreign trade, UAE

In late 2021, when the UAE and India agreed to pursue a Comprehensive Economic Partnership
Agreement (CEPA), both countries arrived at a free-trade deal with a difference. The goal wasn’t
simply to reduce tariffs on goods entering each other’s markets – although that was a key element –
but to bring the two nations closer together, align our growth visions, and work to deliver long-term,
sustainable prosperity in an ever-evolving global economy. It meant building private-sector
networks to identify opportunities, facilitating investment flows into key sectors, strengthening
pivotal East-West supply chains, and creating an ecosystem in which entrepreneurs can scale and
innovate.

The subsequent UAE-India CEPA, signed in February 2022 and implemented in May that year, was
an acknowledgement that both countries can only benefit from deeper economic integration.

The visits of crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to India
this week is another crucial part of realising its promise. The delegation will secure a range of new
partnerships and projects and, at the UAE-India Business Forum in September, will explore
opportunities in high-potential sectors such as logistics, RE, agritech, healthcare and AI.

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