Page 525 - MOE ENGLISH PR REPORT - OCTOBER 2024

UAE, Malaysia conclude negotiations towards CEPA

• Thursday, October 10, 2024 1:07 PM

• 3 minutes Reading

KUALA LUMPUR, 10th October, 2024 (WAM) -- Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for
Foreign Trade, and Zafrul Aziz, Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry for Malaysia, have
confirmed the conclusion of negotiations towards a Comprehensive Economic Partnership
Agreement (CEPA) between the two nations that seeks to eliminate or lower tariffs, reduce barriers
to trade, promote private-sector collaboration and establish new pathways for investment.

It builds on deepening economic ties between two nations, which in 2023 saw bilateral non-oil
trade exceed US$4.9 billion. In the first half of 2024, non-oil trade reached US$2.5 billion, a 7
percent increase compared to the same period in 2023.

Malaysia currently ranks as the UAE’s 12th-largest Asian trading partner, and fifth among ASEAN
countries, while the UAE is Malaysia’s second-largest trade partner in the Arab world, accounting
for 32 percent of Malaysia’s trade with Arab nations. The UAE is also the destination for 40 percent
Malaysia’s merchandise exports to the Arab world.

Al Zeyoudi stressed that continued progress made by the UAE in concluding Comprehensive
Economic Partnership Agreements with promising economies worldwide reflects the forward-

https://www.wam.ae/en/article/b5m2urq-uae-malaysia-conclude-negotiations-towards-cepa