UAE and India Successfully Conclude First Joint Committee Meeting on CEPA

UAE and India have reached a target to boost their non-oil trade to $100 billion by 2030. The two nations concluded the first joint committee meeting on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in New Delhi. UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, met with Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and Textiles to discuss their trade relations under the CEPA. The joint committee agreed to set up committees, sub-committees, and technical council under CEPA to achieve the target of $100 billion. A new sub-committee on Trade in Services will also be launched, and preferential trade data will be exchanged quarterly. The UAE-India CEPA Council (UICC) will facilitate B2B collaboration for SMEs, MSMEs, and start-ups across the UAE and India to optimize CEPA for the private sector. The two countries also exchanged their views on World Trade Organisation (WTO) matters including the 13th Ministerial Conference of the WTO (MC13). It will be held in Abu Dhabi during the final week of February 2024. Both sides emphasized the importance of having effective monitoring of the CEPA. The meeting was successful and appears to pave the way for stronger and more robust trade relations between UAE and India in the years to come.