India — UAE economic partnership agreement to open up new markets for Indian goods and services: Piyush Goyal

21 Feb 2022 , 12:08 PM

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal have termed the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, signed Friday as a landmark pact, that will open up new markets for Indian goods and services.

Addressing a press conference in Mumbai, the day after the signing of the agreement on February 18, Piyush Goyal said “India -UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) will be extremely beneficial for MSMEs, Start-ups, farmers, traders and all sections of businesses.” 

Speaking about the sectoral gains, he said the labour-intensive industries like Textiles, Gems and Jewellery, Leather goods and footwear and food processing industry would be prominent among those to benefit the most.

Goyal asserted that the CEPA is a balanced, fair, comprehensive & equitable partnership agreement, which will give enhanced market access for India in both goods and services.   “It will create jobs for our youth, open new markets for our startups, make our businesses more competitive & boost our economy” he added.

The Minister informed that sector-wise consultations have shown that the pact will create a minimum of 10 lakh jobs for Indian citizens.

Goyal further informed that the CEPA which was finalized and signed in a record time of just 88 days, would come into force in less than 90 days, by early May. He told the media that “around 90% of products exported from India to UAE will attract zero duty with the implementation of the Agreement. 80% lines of trade will attract zero duty, remaining 20% does not affect our exports much, so this is a win-win agreement.”

For the first time in a Trade agreement, the CEPA provides for automatic registration and marketing authorisation of Indian generic medicines in 90 days, once they are approved in any of the developed countries. This will give big market access to Indian medicines.

The CEPA will not only improve the competitiveness of Indian products but also provide strategic advantages to India. “Since UAE functions as a trading hub, the Agreement will help provide us market entry points to Africa, the Middle East and Europe” the Minister added.

Piyush Goyal noted that with the conclusion of the CEPA, India and UAE aims to increase bilateral goods trade over the next five years to $100 billion. “However, I believe that the potential for trade between the two nations is even bigger, we will surpass the target we have set for ourselves”, he said. UAE is India’s third-largest bilateral trading partner.