CEPA : Building robust economic ties between India and UAE

Following the implementation of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in May 2022 between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the economic ties between the two countries are on an upswing, Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of Foreign Trade, recently stated India and UAE have made significant strides in trade and investment ties. 9 percent increase compared to the same period in 2024.

Thus, the India-UAE CEPA is well on course to achieve the shared goal of reaching US$100 billion by 2030. On September 18 2025, Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Managing Director of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, co-chaired the 13th India-UAE High Level Joint Task Force on Investments (HLTFI) in Abu Dhabi. The meeting highlighted the positive momentum exercised by CEPA on bilateral trade between the two countries.

India has emerged as one of the leading trading partners of the UAE, particularly after the signing of the historic India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) on 18 th February, 2022. CEPA entered into force on May 1, 2022.