UAE-India trade touches Dhs1.41tn over 10-year period

The significant growth in the volume of UAE-India non-oil trade reflects the positive progress of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), more than a year after it entered into force.

This momentum will help deliver the target of reaching $100bn in non-oil trade annually over the next five years, according to a report published by state news agency WAM.

During 2020-2022, the volume of non-oil trade exchange between the UAE and India rose by 84 per cent, from Dhs102.5bn to Dhs188.8bn last year, according to Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre data.

From 2013-2022, the trade growth rate between the two countries totalled 18.2 per cent, from Dhs159.72bn to Dhs188.8bn, touching Dhs1.41tn in 10 years.

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UAE-India CEPA has bolstered trade

The UAE-India CEPA represented a platform for joint growth and constructive collaboration to increase the strategic importance of the two countries’ economies, stimulate the flow of mutual investments, and provide opportunities for the business communities in the two countries, which stimulates economic prosperity in both countries, as it is a partnership for sustainable growth.

In the first 12 months of the CEPA coming into force (May 2022 – April 2023), the value of bilateral non-oil trade amounted to $50.5bn, a growth of 5.8 perc cent over the same period last year, so that the partnership achieved distinguished and positive economic results that enhanced the increase in the flow of trade exchange between the two countries.

The UAE-India CEPA played a vital role in strengthening joint economic and trade relations towards further growth and prosperity, and creating a momentum of opportunities for the Emirati and Indian business communities.

The foreign trade between the two countries last year was represented in re-exports at a value of Dhs48.4bn and non-oil exports stood at Dhs40.2bn, while imports amounted to Dhs100.1bn.