The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, witnessed the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the UAE and India.
According to UAE state media WAM, this partnership inaugurates a new era of economic cooperation based on mutual interests between the two countries, as well as strengthens historical relations between them and furthers mutual access to markets and economic and investment opportunities.
The agreement also paves the way for broader prospects of strategic cooperation, raising non-oil infrastructural trade to more than $100 billion, within five years. The summit also witnessed the launch of the “Emirati-Indian joint vision”, among which was the economic partnership.
Great economic benefits
The agreement will contribute to significant economic benefits for the UAE, including increasing and deepening bilateral trade and investment relations by reducing trade costs and creating a level playing field for Emirati companies to compete in the Indian market.It will also enable increased export opportunities and productivity in the country. The agreement also allows for broader coverage of the areas of economic and trade cooperation.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed: Historic Agreement
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed welcomed the signing of the agreement with India, a country being one of the most important global markets with promising future growth prospects. The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi said that the historic agreement between the UAE and India comes within the program of global economic agreements that the country concludes under the umbrella of the “fifty projects” that it announced last September.
Prime Minister of India: Completion of the agreement in record time
The Prime Minister of India expressed his happiness at signing the agreement, noting that such an important agreement was completed in a record time that did not exceed three months, while such agreements usually take years to be signed.
He expressed his confidence that a new era awaits the two countries in the field of economic cooperation, expecting the trade volume between the two countries to rise from $60 billion to $100 billion over the next five years.
Welcome and praise
UAE Minister of Economy Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri indicated that the agreement is a historic achievement that contributes to the forward-looking vision for the next fifty years in order to build a competitive future economy based on knowledge and sustainable growth that is flexible, attractive, and able to create more opportunities for prosperity.
India is a major trading partner of the UAE
It is noteworthy that India is a major and distinguished trading partner for the UAE. According to 2021 statistics, India accounted for 9 percent of the country’s total foreign trade, with non-oil exports to India accounting for 13 percent of the total exports to the world, ranking first.
In terms of imports, India came second after China with 7.4 percent of the total. It ranked third as a destination for re-exports to the world, with a rate of 8.1 percent of the total re-exports.
