Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold talks with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi on Saturday and both leaders will discuss energy, food security and defence during PM Modi’s day-long visit to the UAE.
The landmark trade agreement between India and the UAE – CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement) – which was signed and implemented in 2022 will also be reviewed by both leaders.
On the 15th, I will be in UAE for an official visit. I shall be holding talks with H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. I am confident our interactions will add strength to India-UAE friendship and benefit the people of our countries. @MohamedBinZayed— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 13, 2023
“The beauty of this relationship has been that our leaders have been in very regular contact, even during Covid they were meeting virtually,” India’s ambassador to the UAE, Sunjay Sudhir, was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
The bilateral engagement between India and the UAE has acquired multilateral dimensions.
As PM @narendramodi is on his way to Abu Dhabi, take a quick look into the multifaceted India-UAE ties. pic.twitter.com/7evaYRq3CR— Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) July 15, 2023
CEPA has helped in enhancing the trade ties between India and the UAE. Sudhir pointed out that India-UAE trade went up by 19% and total trade is now $85 billion. “The initial target was $100 billion in five years,” Sudhir told PTI.
India is UAE’s second-largest trading partner. The UAE is India’s third-largest trading partner and fourth-largest source of FDI in 2022-23.
The CEPA mechanism covers trade in goods, rules of origin, trade in services, technical barriers to trade (TBT), sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, dispute settlement, movement of natural persons, telecom, customs procedures, pharmaceutical products, government procurement, intellectual property rights (IPR), investment, digital trade, and cooperation in other areas.
India is benefitting from the preferential market access that the UAE has provided in labour-intensive sectors like gems and jewellery, textiles, leather, footwear, sports goods, plastics, furniture, agricultural and wood products, engineering products, medical devices and automobiles.
India and UAE have also opened market access to a wide range of sectors under the CEPA mechanism, covering business services, communication services, construction and related engineering services, educational services, financial services, health-related and social services, tourism and travel-related services, recreational cultural and sporting services, as well as transport services.
In the pharmaceutical trade sector, India and UAE set up a dedicated annex to simplify access to Indian pharmaceutical products. This means automatic registration and marketing authorization, with a streamlined process completed within 90 days for products meeting specific criteria.
The UAE is a significant energy supplier for India and a valuable partner in the energy sector.
“Our two countries are engaged across a wide range of sectors such as trade, investments, energy, food security, science and technology, education, fintech, defence, security, and robust people-to-people ties,” PM Modi said before departing for UAE.
“I look forward to meeting my friend, H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. I look forward to discussing with him how to further deepen our ties. I am confident that my visit to the UAE will usher in a new chapter in our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,” he further added.
Indians who own businesses in the UAE are also hopeful that CEPA will continue to benefit both nations. “Indian exports to the UAE have already increased by 25% and I hope this cooperation (CEPA) extends to space, defence, and water technology,” Global Business Federation (GBF) Middle East Chairman, Chandrashekhar Bhatia told PTI, pointing out that the agreement was formalised in just 88 days.
“Our aspirations soar as we place great trust in Modi’s ability to engage in substantive discussions regarding the prevalence of the esteemed Indian payment system, RuPay, an innovation introduced during his 2019 visit. The UAE, a trailblazer in the Gulf region, proudly embraced RuPay as the first country to adopt this transformative platform,” Paras Shahdadpuri, the Chairman of the Nikai Group of Companies, said.
“The India-UAE comprehensive strategic partnership has been steadily strengthening and the prime minister’s visit will be an opportunity to identify ways to take this forward in various domains such as energy, education, healthcare, food security, fintech, defence and culture,” the MEA said, prior to PM Modi’s visit.
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