Viet Nam, UAE announce breakthrough in negotiations on CEPA

UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi told Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Dubai on December 2.

Zeyoudi expressed thanks to Prime Minister Pham's active contributions to the overall success of the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28).

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said the CEPA will give a strong boost to bilateral trade and economic cooperation.

In April this year, Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien and UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi signed a joint declaration on intent to launch CEPA negotiations.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Zeyoudi underlined the strong and solid bilateral relations between Viet Nam and the UAE, which continue to grow in all fields, particularly trade and economy. The launch of CEPA negotiations is the result of a shared aspiration on the part of both governments to elevate the existing trade and economic ties to new heights.

Zeyoudi said: "The UAE is Viet Nam's number one Arab trade partner, accounting for 39 per cent of its total trade with the Arab countries. The volume of non-oil trade between the two sides reached AED 29.4 billion (US$8 billion) in 2022.

The trade in goods other than telephones and their accessories, which grew to 46 per cent from less than 36 per cent in 2019, is promising. It totaled AED 13.5 billion (UAD 3 billion) last year, up 9 per cent from 2021, and with a 34 and 26 per cent growth from 2020 and 2019 respectively.

The agreement will boost economic and trade cooperation in unprecedented ways, support the private sector's access to both markets, and drive new investment opportunities, which will result in a higher volume of trade exchanges.", said Zeyoudi./.