Page 622 - MOE ENGLISH PR REPORT - APRIL 2025 (Part 2)

4/7/25, 5:17 PM UAE launches trade deals with Costa Rica and Mauritius - Arabian Business: Latest News on the Middle East, Real Estate, Finance, …
“These CEPAs, enhancing connectivity to centres of growth in Central America and Africa,
are a catalyst for deeper economic collaboration, unlocking a range of opportunities for our

private sector and driving forward our shared goals, from enhancing food security to
accelerating clean energy adoption.”

Al Zeyoudi highlighted the programme’s contribution to record non-oil trade in 2024, which
reached an all-time high of $817bn, marking a 14.6 per cent increase over 2023.

The CEPA programme currently has 27 concluded deals, expanding access for UAE
businesses to over a quarter of the world’s population.

The UAE-Costa Rica CEPA, which was signed April 2024, builds on non-oil trade of more
than $82.6m in 2024, following substantial growth of 27.5 per cent compared 2023.

Under the CEPA, 99.8 per cent of UAE exports to Costa Rica will benefit from zero or

reduced customs duties.

The partnership will also help to facilitate strategic capital exchange, adding to the UAE’s
approximate $673m already invested in Central America.

Opening access to one of Africa’s most promising economies, the UAE-Mauritius CEPA is

projected to boost the value of non-oil bilateral trade from its current $209.8m to $500m
within five years, including a fourfold increase in exports to Mauritius.

Over 97 per cent of United Arab Emirates exports to Mauritius will benefit from immediate

tariff elimination or gradual tariff reduction over a maximum of 5 years under the CEPA.

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