Page 242 - MOE ENGLISH PR REPORT - APRIL 2025 (Part 2)

4/15/25, 4:28 PM Al Zeyoudi: UAE, India continue to reap benefits of CEPA
He noted that the official visit of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince

of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Defence, to India comes as the two friendly countries
approach the third anniversary of the implementation of their Comprehensive Economic Partnership

Agreement (CEPA), which came into effect on 1st May 2022. This agreement was the first of its kind signed by
the UAE under its CEPA programme and the first to be implemented—highlighting the long-standing and
robust ties between the UAE and India.

Al Zeyoudi pointed out that the UAE and India continue to reap tangible benefits from the CEPA, which over

the past three years has led to significant growth in bilateral trade and investment flows. Non-oil trade
between the two countries grew by 20.5%, reaching over AED240 billion in 2024, compared to AED199.3

billion in 2023. This growth underscores the vast opportunities in trade and investment between the two
nations.

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India also ranked as the top destination for UAE’s non-oil exports in 2024, accounting for 13.5% of total non-

oil exports—a remarkable year-on-year increase of 75.2% compared to 2023.

He further explained that both nations play a vital role in each other’s economies. India is the UAE’s second-
largest global trading partner after China, while the UAE is India’s third-largest trading partner, following

China and the U.S.

India is also the second-largest investor in the UAE, holding a 6.3% share with investments totaling nearly

US$10 billion by the end of 2022. Conversely, the UAE has cumulative direct investments in India of around
US$23 billion by the end of 2024—making it India’s seventh-largest global investor and the top Arab investor.

The value of UAE investments flowing into India between April 2022 and December 2024 reached US$10.4
billion, coinciding with the implementation of the CEPA.

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