“The positive impact of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) is highly visible when considering the growth in bilateral trade between the UAE and India…This is a significant achievement that underlines the transformative benefits of the CEPA and the strong prospects for further growth in the UAE-India economic partnership,” Alshaali said in an interaction with reporters.
According to the Ambassador, UAE has set a target to achieve USD 100 billion worth of non-oil bilateral trade with India by 2030.
Facilitated by the CEPA, he observed that the South Asian country’s gems and jewellery, pharmaceuticals and fruits and vegetables exports to UAE rose massively, recording a growth rate of 64 per cent, 39 per cent and 35 per cent respectively.
Calling CEPA as only the beginning, the Ambassador said there is considerable potential to further enhance trade ties and added that the UAE is eliminating tariffs on a total of 7,581 Indian products in the coming years.
Alshaali said these products account for 99 per cent of India’s exports to the UAE in terms of value and added that tariffs were already eliminated for over 80 per cent of India’s total exports to the UAE. Similarly, Alshaali said CEPA-driven trade optimisation proved beneficial to Indian startups and SMEs, which are now able to access newer markets with greater ease. The Ambassador also highlighted that several UAE companies were capitalising on the bilateral trade deal to enter the Indian market, especially in the fields of construction, energy and retail.
On Thursday, the envoy is participating in UAE-Andhra Pradesh Economic and Investment Roundtable in Vijayawada, which will feature the state Industries Minister TG Bharat and over 10 companies from the Middle Eastern country such as Emaar, DP World, Tabreed, Aramex and others.
Further, Alshaali said the UAE is interested in supporting the Indian aviation sector as a partner for its continued growth and development rather than a competitor.
UAE’s flagship carrier Emirates is the largest airline in the Middle East.
Alshaali said India’s airports have the ability and capacity to handle more numbers of passengers than current passenger volumes.
Moreover, he observed that large-scale integration of rupee in bilateral trade takes time as it cannot happen quickly, considering the technicalities and systems involved.