The UAE expects to finalise negotiations on five to seven Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (Cepas) with its trading partners over the course of this year as it continues its push to expand trade and investment ties around the world.
Negotiations with Canada are nearing conclusion, while those with African nations, including Rwanda, Ghana and Zambia, have also entered final stages, Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Foreign Trade, said in a statement to state news agency Wam.
The UAE is also engaged in negotiations for Cepas with Peru in South America as well as Bangladesh, one of the fastest-growing Asian economies, with both deals “making good progress”, the minister said.
The UAE has already signed 37 Cepas with trading partners, according to Wam. Eighteen of those have come into force, the deal with Ukraine being the latest to do so in June.
Cepas with India, Turkey, Jordan, Serbia and Vietnam are among others that have already come into force.
While Cepas are making rapid progress, the UAE’s bilateral trade deal with the European Union is also moving along, albeit at a slower pace, the minister said.
The seventh round of trade agreement negotiations with the bloc has ended but its pace is still “slower than expected compared to bilateral negotiations with other countries”, Dr Al Zeyoudi said.
Push for deals
The UAE, the Arab world’s second-largest economy, is pushing to forge deals with trading partners across continents as it seeks to boost investment ties, expand its non-oil economic base and broaden exports.
The UAE aims to boost non-oil foreign trade to Dh4 trillion ($1.089 trillion) by 2031 as part of its national economic goals.
Non-oil foreign trade rose 13.1 per cent annually in the first half of the year to Dh1.937 trillion as the push for economic diversification continued.
Non-oil exports “achieved a record” of Dh452.8 billion during the six months, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, said on X this week. They were up 23.9 per cent annually, the UAE Government Media Office reported.
The UAE's non-oil trade with the countries where Cepas are in force reached Dh304.3 billion during the first half of 2026. Imports from these countries amounted to Dh193.5 billion, while non-oil exports amounted to Dh66.1 billion during the same period, the media office reported.
Trade infrastructure
The Emirates launched the Cepa programme in 2021 to reduce tariffs and remove trade bottlenecks with other countries through simplified customs procedures. It has also invested heavily in trade and logistics infrastructure, including marine ports and airports.
“UAE’s investments in developing resilient trade infrastructure have proven their worth during the recent geopolitical challenges,” Dr Al Zeyoudi said.
The integration between airports, ports and the land transport sector, as well as UAE companies operating in port management, logistics and customs clearance, has helped the country absorb “the large increase in container traffic”, he said.
Projects announced by DP World, one of the world’s top operators of ports and free zones, to boost connectivity with east coast ports and expand land transport capabilities with a larger fleet of lorries have provided flexibility in the face of war-driven challenges, the minister said.
