Indian-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA)

The historic India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) which was signed between the two nations on 18 February 2022, officially entered into force.

Close cultural and civilizational affinities, regular high-level political exchanges, and strong people-to-people links preserve and develop India-UAE bilateral relations, which are deep-rooted and historical.
During the Prime Minister of India’s visit to the UAE in 2015, the India-UAE comprehensive strategic partnership was launched.
The UAE is a significant supplier of energy for India and a vital partner in the development of strategic petroleum reserves, as well as the upstream and downstream petroleum industries.
The CEPA between India and the United Arab Emirates will strengthen the two nations’ strong, close, and strategic relationships by creating new job opportunities, raising living standards, and improving the general welfare of their peoples.

Gems & Jewellery sector contributes a substantial portion of India’s exports to the UAE and is a sector that is expected to benefit significantly from the tariff concessions obtained for Indian products under the India-UAE CEPA.
Overall, India will benefit from preferential market access provided by the UAE on over 97 % of its tariff lines which account for 99% of Indian exports to the UAE in value terms particularly from labour-intensive sectors such as Gems and Jewellery, Textiles, leather, footwear, sports goods, plastics, furniture, agricultural and wood products, engineering products, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and Automobiles.
As regards trade in services, Indian service providers will have enhanced access to around 111 sub-sectors from the 11 broad service sectors.
CEPA is expected to increase the total value of bilateral trade in goods to over US$100 billion and trade in services to over US$ 15 billion within five years.