UAE’s CEPA pacts to boost economy by 2.6% by 2030, minister says

The Emirates plans to sign its fourth CEPA with Colombia this month, following agreements with India, Israel and Indonesia

The UAE will sign its fourth CEPA with Colombia this month, according to Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade. Victor Besa / The National

The UAE’s Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements with India, Israel and Indonesia are expected to expand the country’s economy by 2.6 per cent by 2030, according to Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, the UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Trade.

The UAE and Indonesia, the biggest South-East Asian economy, signed the CEPA last week to boost bilateral trade between the two nations. The Emirates also signed a similar deal with Israel and India in May and February, respectively.

The agreements have “opened large markets to achieve national economy's growth, with preliminary figures pointing out that the first CEPA with India is expected to achieve a 1.7 per cent growth in the national economy by 2030, while the CEPA with Indonesia is expected to achieve a 0.87 per cent increase”, Dr Al Zeyoudi told the state news agency Wam.

He did not say to what extent the Israel deal would boost the UAE’s gross domestic product growth by 2030.

“After the signing of the CEPA with Indonesia, we now have access to a large market with 1.7 billion people, including 1.4 billion people in India and 280 million in Indonesia, in addition to nearly 10 million people in Israel,” Dr Al Zeyoudi said.

Bilateral non-oil trade between the UAE and Indonesia is expected to jump to $10 billion in the next five years from $3bn currently while India’s deal is expected to boost non-oil trade between the two countries to $100bn in five years, from $60bn currently. The trade and investment pact with Israel is expected to push the value of non-oil bilateral trade to more than $10bn within five years.

Dr Al Zeyoudi said the UAE will sign its fourth CEPA with Colombia this month and is negotiating with Turkey on a similar deal as it looks to strengthen trade partnerships with different countries.

“We have started the CEPA signing negotiation process with several African and East Asian countries and Georgia. The country is also co-ordinating with Chile in this regard,” he said.