India, United Arab Emirates sees $ 100 billion in trade after signing contract

India and the United Arab Emirates signed an extensive trade and investment agreement yesterday. Ultimately, this will reduce tariffs on each other’s goods and aim to increase the annual trade value between the two countries to $ 100 billion within five years.
The virtual signing ceremony marks the first trade agreement signed by the Gulf States, which began pursuing such an agreement last September to strengthen its position as a business hub.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan have already witnessed signatures by senior officials from their major trading partners during a virtual summit between leaders.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office of India, the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) will, as is known, boost annual bilateral non-oil trade from $ 60 billion to $ 100 billion within the next three to five years. It is expected.
Trade Minister Tani Al Zeyoudi of the United Arab Emirates told Reuters that “there is a huge trade and investment flow between the two countries that will open the door to more business opportunities.” ..
The agreement, which was not immediately announced, will eliminate 80% of tariffs on UAE and Indian goods, and all tariffs will be eliminated within 10 years, Arzeyoudi said.
United Arab Emirates goods such as aluminum, copper and petrochemicals will benefit from tariff elimination, he said.
The contract also includes services, investment, intellectual property, and UAE’s commitment to grant 140,000 employment visas to highly skilled workers in India by 2030.
India is the UAE’s second largest trading partner, with billions of dollars remittances each year from more than 3 million Indians working in the Gulf countries.
The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Economy said that by 2030, CEPA will add $ 9 billion (1.7%) to UAE’s gross domestic product, exports will increase by $ 7.6 billion (1.5%), and imports will increase by $ 14.8 billion (3.8). %) Announced that it will increase.
Implementation of CEPA is expected to take 1.5 to 2 years.
The United Arab Emirates is conducting similar trade and investment transactions with countries such as Turkey and South Korea, and will soon complete bilateral negotiations with Israel and Indonesia.
It has also announced a number of regulatory and social reforms in recent years to ease business and life in a country where the population of 10 million is mostly foreign.
“We are moving from the region to the hub of the world,” Al Zeyodi said, referring to trade agreements and policy announcements.