UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi has announced the UAE’s plan to further enhance its Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPAs) this year.
This, as the country strives to ensure that both it and its international trading partners gain the maximum benefits from these agreements.
According to state news agency WAM, H.E. Al Zeyoudi highlighted that the UAE’s CEPAs program strategically intends to broaden the country’s commercial and investment ties on a global scale, positioning the UAE as a leading gateway for non-oil goods and services and a key hub for business and investment.
Increased CEPAs, he said, will make international trade more fair and organized, thereby helping the UAE grow by supporting sustainable development, bringing in more investments, and creating more opportunities to trade goods and services with other countries.
He added that the UAE CEPAs — numbering 24 since the program’s launch in 2021 — have impacted the country’s foreign trade landscape positively, particularly in non-oil trade, re-export services, logistics, clean and renewable energy, technology, financial services, green industries, advanced materials, agriculture, and sustainable food systems.
In the first half of 2024, the UAE’s foreign trade exceeded AED 1.395 trillion, an 11.2% increase compared to the same period in 2023, WAM said.
During President Bongbong Marcos’s meeting with UAE President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on November 26 last year, His Highness reaffirmed the UAE’s commitment to advancing the country’s CEPA talks with the Philippines.
This key trade deal, discussions on which started in February 2022, aims to boost investments, streamline trade, and create new opportunities for professionals and businesses to achieve shared economic growth.
