India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement

• The first meeting of the Joint Committee of India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) held successfully. India and the UAE look to more than double non-oil bilateral trade to USD 100 billion by 2030.

COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC COOPERATION AGREEMENT (CEPA)

• CEPA is a comprehensive agreement between India and the United Arab Emirates that seeks to enhance the economic and commercial ties between the two countries.
• The agreement aims to increase trade and investment, improve market access, and promote economic growth between India and the UAE.
• CEPA was signed in 2020 and is seen as a significant milestone in the economic relationship between India and the UAE.
• Under CEPA, the two countries have committed to reducing barriers to trade and investment, which will make it easier for businesses from both countries to engage in trade and investment activities.
• The agreement includes provisions for reducing tariffs on goods, services, and investment, as well as for promoting the movement of people, goods, and services between India and the UAE.
• CEPA is expected to provide a major boost to the economic relationship between India and the UAE, as it will increase trade and investment, improve market access, and provide a more favorable environment for businesses to operate in.
• The agreement is expected to benefit a range of sectors, including but not limited to information technology, engineering, pharmaceuticals, and services sectors.
• CEPA is expected to promote the development of economic and commercial ties between India and the UAE, and to provide a foundation for further cooperation between the two countries in the future.
• It is projected to reach US$100 billion in goods trade and over US$1.5 billion in trade in services in the next five years. Built on three pillars of trust, transparency, and talent.

BENEFITS

• For India:
  • Preferential market access provided by the UAE on more than 97 percent of its tariff lines, accounting for 99 percent of Indian exports to the UAE in value terms
  • Preferential market access for labour-intensive goods such as textiles, leather, footwear, sports goods, plastics, furniture, agricultural and wood products, engineering goods, pharmaceuticals, and automobiles.
  • Preferential market access for services sector including computer-related services, health, tourism, travel, engineering, and accountancy.
  • Creation of more than one million jobs for the Indian workforce through enhanced trade liberalisation and market access.
  • UAE committed to issuing 140,000 employment visas to skilled Indian professionals by
  • Three-year visa for intra-corporate transfers and a 90-day visa for business visitors and contractual suppliers from India
• Benefits for the UAE:
  • Boost to the UAE’s GDP (US$9 billion) by 1.7 percent by 2030.
  • Zero-duty market access for 90 percent of exports from the UAE into India, benefiting commodity exporters of petrochemicals, aluminum, and copper.