India-UAE CEPA to be operational on May 1: Piyush Goyal

The free trade agreement between India and the UAE has opened huge opportunities and businesses of both countries should look at taking the bilateral trade to $250 billion by 2030, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday.

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The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) was signed by India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in February and is expected to come into force from May 1, he said.

"We should reset our goals and look for much much broader canvas in which this partnership should work and possibly look at going up to USD 250 billion between UAE and India by 2030,” he said here.

Under the pact, domestic exporters of as many as 6,090 goods from sectors like textiles, agriculture, dry fruits, gem and jewellery would get duty-free access to the UAE market.

He also said that India is looking at increasing exports in goods and services to USD 2 trillion and the UAE would play a key role in achieving that target.

Goyal said that the UAE is a door for tapping other markets from Europe and Africa.

Talking about India's goods exports, he said it would cross USD 410 billion by end of this fiscal. Services exports too are doing great and these may reach USD 250 billion by end of the current fiscal.

Exporters hailed the agreement stating that it would help in promoting exports from sectors like textiles, pharma, gem and jewellery and chemicals.

Addressing the plenary session of ‘Investopia- Emerging Markets: From frontiers to Frontlines’ in Dubai, Goyal said that even though the emerging markets of the world have been strengthening themselves consistently, if they are to meet climate goals, they would have to be supported by developed nations through practical funding solutions.

Flagging the disparity in intention and action when it comes to climate change, he said that responsible governments would find success in tiding over the climate crisis.

Goyal said that since 2014, India had been focussing on structural reforms and on strengthening processes and taking steps like accumulating greater forex reserves and stabilizing economy for a more secular growth.

The minister said that on one hand the government was striving to improve the lives of people and on the other hand, improving economic stability, including energy security. India has the world’s fastest growing renewable energy programme and has helped bring down the cost of renewable energy with sheer scale.

Speaking of India's success with homegrown vaccines, Goyal said that during Covid, India announced a self-reliance programme which did not close its doors but made way for more meaning international engagement.

He added that during Covid, India had seen the highest ever foreign investment, the highest ever merchandise exports and a sharp recovery in our service exports which stands at USD 250 billion which is nearly 20 per cent more than highest ever figure so far.

Goyal said that India was working with partners like the UAE, with which it signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in a very short span of 88 days from start to finish of negotiations