Abu Dhabi: The United Arab Emirates and Mauritius have signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) after concluding negotiations.
The conclusion of negotiations, which came just four months following the first round of talks, was confirmed by the signing of a joint statement in Mauritius by Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, and Mr. Maneesh Gobin, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration, and International trade of Mauritius.
The CEPA will cover a variety of topics, including trade in goods and services and investment facilitation, building on nearly 50 years of ties as well as more recent foundations, such as the opening of the Mauritius Economic Development Board’s office in Dubai.
When put into effect, it will hasten the rapid expansion of bilateral trade in non-oil between the UAE and Mauritius, which in the first half of 2023 stood at $63.
Dr. Al Zeyoudi met with Hemraj Ramnial, Chairman of the Mauritius Economic Development Board, prior to signing the CEPA joint statement. This meeting was followed by discussions with Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth regarding the opportunities the bilateral agreement would create for trade and investment between the two countries. Subsequently, Dr. Al Zeyoudi also engaged with Louis Steven Obeegado, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Housing and Land Use Planning, and Minister of Tourism.
Strategically located in the vital Indian Ocean, and with a growth-orientated economic vision that matches our own, Mauritius is a welcome and valued partner in the UAE’s CEPA programme and our efforts to maximise bilateral opportunities borne from open, rules-based trade.
Al Zeyoudi said.
“With the potential to add fully 1 percent to the Mauritius economy by 2031 and enhancing the UAE’s GDP by 1.2 percent in the same period, a UAE-Mauritius Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement offers considerable benefits for us both – it will do so by not only boosting trade flows, but creating new pathways for strategic investment, private-sector and academic collaboration, and SME support,” Dr. Al Zeyoudi added.