India and UAE will review trade agreement

2 years ago on 18 February 2022, a historic trade agreement was signed between India and UAE. After just 88 days of negotiations, the two countries signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), this agreement done in such a short time became an example for the world.

According to news agency Reuters, sources and Indian officials confirming the review have described it as part of the normal process. The Indian official has said that such agreements are reviewed from time to time. However, the news of the review has come at a time when a delegation led by UAE Crown Prince Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed Al Nahyan is on a visit to India.

On Sunday itself, the Crown Prince of UAE arrived in New Delhi on his first official visit, where he was welcomed by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal at the airport. However, according to sources, Sheikh Khalid, son of UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, is unlikely to participate in the trade review.

Indian industries had raised concerns about this trade agreement between India and UAE in the year 2022. In fact, according to Reuters, people familiar with the matter said that Indian industries had expressed concern over the increase in imports of precious metals from the UAE, after which officials of both countries may review this trade agreement this week. Sources say that India and UAE will review the trade agreement this week, when the Crown Prince of UAE is on a visit to India.

India and UAE are among each other's largest trading partners, this Gulf country has a significant population of Indian citizens, which contributes significantly to the UAE economy.

This trade agreement between India and UAE was implemented in May 2022. To take the trade relations of the two countries to new dimensions, this agreement emphasized on increasing cooperation in many sectors including defense, energy. After this agreement, it was expected that by the year 2027, bilateral trade of goods between the two countries would reach $ 100 billion. Before the implementation of the agreement, bilateral trade of $ 72 billion took place between the two countries in the financial year 2021-22.

Under this agreement, emphasis was laid on increasing trade and investment between the two countries, special steps were taken to reduce custom and import duties and remove obstacles in trade routes. This accelerated bilateral trade between the two countries, in the financial year 2022-23, trade between the two countries was around $ 84 billion, that is, after the implementation of the agreement, trade between the two countries saw an increase of 16 percent in a single year.