New Delhi, Dec 3 (UNI) Ahead of the third round of negotiations on the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) scheduled to be held in New Delhi on 6-10 December 2021, Minister of Commerce and Industries Piyush Goyal on Friday met representatives of aluminium, copper and chemicals and petrochemicals industry as part of the ongoing multi-stakeholder consultations related to the CEPA.
India and the UAE formally launched negotiations on the CEPA in September this year when Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, United Arab Emirates Minister of State for Foreign Trade and a high-level delegation traveled to New Delhi. Goyal and Al Zeyoudi agreed to reach a mutually beneficial economic deal, conclude negotiations by December 2021 and sign a formal agreement in March 2022 after the completion of internal legal procedures and ratification.
The CEPA will be a calibration on the progress made by both countries under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership signed in 2017 and 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. With both sides aiming to conclude the negotiations, Goyal apprised the representatives from industry about the importance of the CEPA in elevating the overall economic and commercial relations with the UAE which in turn will not only benefit bilateral trade but also create new jobs and provide wider social and economic opportunities. Appreciating the accommodative spirit of the industry, he called for continued support for the CEPA negotiations in the interests of holistic development of multi-sectoral economic value chains in the country.
The strategic importance of the CEPA flows from the potential benefits that will accrue through deeper bilateral economic engagement and wider market access. The burgeoning trade and investment relations between the two countries has built a strong foundation for the CEPA. 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. The bilateral ties are also witnessing diversified growth. Recently, payments and API banking solutions company, Cashfree Payments announced an equity investment of $15 million in Telr, a leading payment service provider (PSP) in UAE and Saudi Arabia.
The visit of Minister of Petroleum Hardeep Puri to the UAE for the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference saw significant discussions on issues of energy cooperation within the overall framework of the India-UAE strategic partnership. Indian companies have steadily increased their presence in the UAE's energy sector with a consortium of two Indian oil companies being awarded exploration rights in March 2019 for an onshore block in Abu Dhabi. This followed the award in February 2018 of a 10 per cent participating interest in Abu Dhabi's offshore Lower Zakum Concession to an Indian consortium of three companies. Exports of engineering goods to the UAE went up 70 pc to US$ 467.5 million in October 2021 as compared to US$ 275 million in the same month last year.
The stakeholders expressed gratitude to the Minister for taking into consideration concerns of the Industry and provided constructive inputs on this matter with a view to ensure overall balance between market access and domestic sensitivities.
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