India, UAE to Deepen Economic Partnership as Bilateral Trade Surpasses $100 Billion

India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have agreed to further strengthen trade facilitation, regulatory cooperation, and data-sharing frameworks during the third Joint Committee meeting under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) held in New Delhi, an official statement said on Thursday.

The meeting was co-chaired by Ajay Bhadoo, Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce, and Juma Al Kait, UAE’s Assistant Undersecretary for International Trade Affairs. Both sides acknowledged the remarkable growth in bilateral trade, which reached $100.06 billion in FY 2024-25 — an impressive 19.6% increase — solidifying the UAE’s role as one of India’s most significant trading partners.

The UAE delegation also met Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal to discuss avenues for enhancing CEPA utilisation on both sides.

During the Joint Committee session, the delegations conducted a comprehensive review of CEPA’s progress. Discussions covered a wide range of issues including market access, data-sharing mechanisms, allocation of the Gold Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ), anti-dumping concerns, services trade, Rules of Origin, and BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) licensing requirements.

India apprised the UAE of its recent decision to allocate Gold TRQ via a transparent, competitive bidding process.

The Commerce Ministry highlighted recent high-level engagements — including meetings between Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and UAE Minister of Foreign Trade Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Mumbai and Dubai — which have contributed significantly to deepening bilateral economic cooperation.

Both nations reiterated their commitment to boosting non-oil and non-precious metal trade as they work toward the shared target of $100 billion in non-oil trade by 2030.

Other discussion points included enhancing regulatory cooperation in pharmaceuticals, resolving issues related to Certificates of Origin, strengthening BIS coordination, and expediting the signing of an MoU on Food Safety and Technical Requirements between India’s APEDA and the UAE’s Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MoCCAE).

Earlier in September, Commerce Minister Goyal noted that investment from the UAE — both FDI and FII — is expected to rise significantly as economic ties continue to strengthen.

With inputs from IANS