The UAE is on the verge of signing six major international trade deals before the end of the year, according to Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade.
He said the country expects to complete the signing of the six new CEPAs within a matter of months.
Al Zeyoudi said that the UAE is close to finalising comprehensive economic partnership agreements (CEPA), with:
- South Korea
- Thailand
- Chile
- Costa Rica
- Colombia
- Ukraine
UAE foreign trade deals
The news came on sidelines of a press conference to announce a UAE-Georgia CEPA.
Al Zeyoudi said that the comprehensive partnership agreement with Georgia is the sixth for the UAE.
He noted that Georgia has a strategic location and has achieved strong growth rates in the past three years that reached 10 per cent in 2022.
He pointed to the significant growth in trade between the two countries and said that the agreement will help to accelerate and boost bilateral trade.
He called on the private sector to take advantage of the opportunities available and use the agreement to establish a presence in the Caucasus region.
Al Zeyoudi said that trade between the two countries reached nearly $481m last year, with growth of 115 per cent.
In the first half of this year, trade grew by 28 per cent to reach $225m.
He expects trade to reach $1.5bn in the next five years.
He also noted the strong growth of UAE investments in Georgia, which make the Emirates the sixth largest investor in Georgia globally, with a share of 5 per cent of total foreign investment.
He said that UAE investments are focused on infrastructure and hospitality.
Al Zeyoudi also noted that there is strong interest in the renewable energy sector, and that there are discussions underway for several projects.
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