Page 142 - MOE ENGLISH PR REPORT - JULY 2024

“Chile offers a range of exciting opportunities for our private sector, particularly in key sectors such
as manufacturing, mining, financial services, renewable energy, tourism and agriculture,” said Dr
Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, minister of state for foreign trade.
Chile boasts the fourth-largest economy in South America with a GDP of more than $300 billion. It
is the world’s second-largest lithium producer and a dominant producer of copper.

Main exports from the UAE to Chile include phones, portable devices, electronic products and
industrial materials.

Imports from Chile are mainly made up of potassium nitrate, sodium, wood and various food
products.

“We believe there is significant potential in our relationship with the UAE, and Chile offers many
opportunities, particularly in areas like food and minerals, which are crucial to our economy,” said
Alberto van Klaveren, Chilean minister of foreign affairs.

Chilean president Gabriel Boric is in the UAE this week on a state visit, the first of its kind since the
establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1978.
The deal, the UAE’s second Cepa with a South American country following a one with Colombia in
April, will eliminate or reduce customs duties covering 99.5 percent of the value of the UAE’s
imports from Chile.

The Cepa will also open market access to services exports, remove unnecessary barriers to trade
and encourage investment and joint ventures.
“Liberalisation is particularly significant in the services sector, which is key to attracting
investments to both countries,” said Al Zeyoudi.

For the first time, a specialised section in the agreement has been devoted to empowering women
in the economic and commercial sectors of both countries. A further chapter is also dedicated to
safeguarding supply chains between the UAE and Chile.
Chile is a partner in the Mangrove Alliance for Climate, which looks to scale up and accelerate the
conservation and restoration of mangrove ecosystems, and is led by the UAE and Indonesia.

The deal with Chile, which is expected to come into force in six months, is the 11th such agreement
signed by the UAE since it launched its Cepa programme in September 2021.

The programme aims to increase the country’s non-oil foreign trade to AED4 trillion. The UAE’s non-
oil trade in goods reached an all-time high of $710 billion last year, a 12.6 percent increase from
2022.

https://www.agbi.com/trade/2024/07/chile-deal-marks-uaes-latest-trade-agreement/