UAE Plans to Grow Global Trade Partnerships with CEPA Program in 2025: Foreign Trade Minister
The UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, said on Tuesday that the country will keep growing its trade agreements, known as Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPAs), in 2025, as reported by state news agency WAM.
Trade Agreements
The Foreign Trade Minister said the agreements aim to make international trade fair, promote sustainable growth, attract more investments, and create better trade opportunities for goods, services, and re-exports.
He explained that the UAE’s CEPA program is designed to build global business and investment partnerships, making the country a key hub for non-oil goods, services, and international business.
Al Zeyoudi highlighted that these agreements, combined with the UAE’s ability to form strong partnerships worldwide, create more opportunities for different industries and open new markets.
He added that the agreements have already helped boost the UAE’s foreign trade, especially in non-oil trade, re-export services, logistics, clean energy, technology, financial services, green industries, advanced materials, farming, and sustainable food systems.
Since the program started in September 2021 until December 2024, the UAE has signed 24 CEPAs with countries and groups, covering about 2.5 billion people, according to WAM.
UAE’s foreign trade
In August, official data showed that the UAE’s non-oil trade grew by 11.2% in the first half of 2024, reaching a record high of $379.8 billion (AED 1.39 trillion). This was the sixth straight half-year period of growth in foreign trade.
Al Zeyoudi mentioned that the CEPA program has been a key factor in achieving these record results.
Non-oil exports increased by 25% compared to last year, reaching $69.8 billion (AED 256.4 billion) in the first six months. The rise in exports was due to important sectors like gold, silver, jewelry, oils, perfumes, aluminum, copper wires, and iron products.
The UAE aims to reach $1.089 trillion (AED 4 trillion) in non-oil trade by 2031.
Recent Agreements
In October, the UAE and Vietnam made agreements to strengthen their relationship in areas like trade, government development, education, economy, investment, scientific research, and logistics. These agreements were signed during a visit by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to the UAE. One of the agreements was a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the UAE’s Ministry of Investment and Vietnam’s Ministry of Investment and Planning to cooperate on investment, innovation, and financial centers.
Also in October, the UAE and Jordan signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) to boost trade and investment. This is the first CEPA between the UAE and another Arab country. The goal is to speed up growth in key industries, create jobs, and improve supply chains.
In September, the UAE and New Zealand signed a CEPA to open up new economic opportunities for exporters and strengthen supply chains. The agreement will remove duties on 98.5% of New Zealand’s exports, and this will increase to 99% within three years.
Published: 1st January 2025
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