New Delhi: India and the UAE signed the historic Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) aimed at boosting the merchandise trade between the two countries to $ 100 billion over the next five years. The deal was signed during the virtual summit meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
Addressing the joint press conference with Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy (UAE) and Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that India, celebrating its 75 years of independence and the UAE, celebrating 50 years of its foundation were at an appropriate time to reset the relationship between two nations and take it to greater heights than ever before.
The Minister observed that both India and the UAE are natural partners with several complementarities and hardly any elements of competition. He said both the nations believed in rules based fair trade, in engaging with each other in a spirit of reciprocity and were determined that people and businesses of both countries must mutually benefit from the deepening engagement.
Goyal emphasized that the agreement was not an interim arrangement but a complete and comprehensive economic partnership finalized in the shortest possible time in history. He said that the agreement covered the widest possible array of subjects from free trade to digital economy to government procurement and several other strategic areas of mutual interest.
Emphasizing that CEPA would generate 10 lakh jobs across multiple labour-intensive sectors, the Minister said that major sectors like gems and jewellery, textiles, leather, footwear, furniture, agriculture and food products, plastics, engineering goods, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, sports goods etc. will benefit from this deal and create large scale, employment for our young boys and girls.
Goyal said that there were many firsts in the CEPA agreement. He said that UAE had agreed to automatic registration and market authorization for Indian medicines in case of their regulatory approval in developed countries such as the USA, EU, the UK and Japan. The Commerce and Industry Minister added that the agreement also had a permanent safeguard mechanism which can be resorted to in a situation of sudden surge in imports along with strict rules of origin.
Addressing the gathering, Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy, UAE, termed it as a momentous new chapter in the shared history between the two nations. He added that the India-UAE CEPA is a milestone in the relationship between India and UAE and has been built on decades of enterprise and aspires to establish a new era of progress and prosperity for the people of both nations.
He highlighted the long standing cultural and economic relationship between the two nations and said that India was the first nation UAE chose to partner with in the post pandemic world. Speaking on the occasion, Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, UAE, also expressed his appreciation to the teams from both sides for the early conclusion of the CEPA. /BI/
