The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between by India and UAE
Recently, a virtual summit was held between India and the United Arab Emirates.
During this a Joint Approach Paper on “Advancing Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” was released. In this conference, the “Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA)” was signed between the two countries.
The CEPA is expected to increase bilateral trade from the current level of $60 billion to $100 billion in the next five years.
Significance of CEPA between India and UAE:
- This agreement will reduce the tariff on 80% of the items. In addition, 90% of exports from India to the United Arab Emirates will attract zero tariffs.
- As many as 10 lakh jobs will be created in many labour-intensive sectors.
- The United Arab Emirates has agreed to allow automatic registration and approval of Indian drugs in developed countries such as the US, European Union, UK and Japan, subject to regulatory approvals.
- Will help Indian exporters to get access to West Asian countries, Africa etc. through UAE.
India-UAE Relations:
- The United Arab Emirates is the third largest trading partner of India, after China and the United States, as of the year 2019-20.
- The United Arab Emirates is also the third largest export destination of India.
- Regular military exercises like ‘Desert Eagle’ are organized for maritime cooperation between the two countries. This helps in maintaining peace and security in the region, thus enabling peace and security.
- The United Arab Emirates has the largest number of Indian expatriates (3.5 million). They also contribute in the form of higher remittances in India.
- In the year 2019, a total of $ 17.06 billion was received from them in remittances.
- As a part of space cooperation, ISRO launched UAE’s first nano-satellite NAYIF-1.
- The two countries have jointly committed to combating extremism and all forms of terrorism, including cross-border terrorism.
Other results of the summit:
A joint commemorative postage stamp was also released to mark the 75th anniversary of India’s independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the United Arab Emirates.
In addition, the following Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs) was signed between the two countries:
- MoU on “Food Security Corridor Initiative”.
- MoU between India’s Gujarat International Finance Tech City (GIFT City) and Abu Dhabi Global Markets on cooperation in financial projects and services.
- MoU on cooperation in climate action and education.
Source – The Hindu
