Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA):
India and UAE’s Commerce Minister have formally launched negotiations on the India-United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
- The first round of CEPA negotiations will be held on 23-24 September 2021.
- CEPA will create new jobs, raise living standards, and provide wider social and economic opportunities in both nations.
- A new strategic economic agreement is expected to increase bilateral trade in goods to USD 100 billion within five years of the signed agreement and increase trade in services to USD 15 billion.
- The UAE is currently India’s third-largest trading partner with bilateral trade in 2019/2020 valued at USD 59 billion. The UAE is also India’s second-largest export destination after the US, with exports valued at approximately USD 29 billion in 2019-2020.
- India was the UAE’s second-largest trading partner in 2019, with bilateral non-oil trade valued at USD 41 billion.
- The UAE is the eighth-largest investor in India, having invested USD 11 billion between April 2000 and March 2021, while investment by Indian companies in the UAE is estimated to be over USD 85 billion.
