UAE + CAR ink a CEPA: The UAE and Central African Republic (CAR) inked a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) to boost bilateral trade from AED 925 mn to over AED 3.7 bn over the next five to seven years, Wam reported last week, quoting Foreign Trade Minister Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi as saying. The agreement is expected to facilitate market access for local products in both nations by decreasing or removing tariffs and eliminating non-tariff trade barriers.

The details: Under the CEPA, CAR will receive a 98% tariff removal on exports to the UAE, while the African country will extend a 99.5% tariff removal for UAE exports. The UAE mostly exports consumer goods to CAR including food products, textiles, and electronics, as well as machinery and pharma products.

The game plan: The partnership will target increased investment across key sectors including telecommunications, hospitality, logistics, financial technology, agriculture, and infrastructure. It will also focus on boosting trade and investment in aluminum, ceramics, petrochemicals, iron, silver, gold, food products, and textiles.

The countries also agreed to explore cooperation in investment protection and promotion, double taxation avoidance, infrastructure, mineral resources, and education, among others.

In numbers: UAE exports to CAR stood at USD 33.2 mn in 2023, with rolled tobacco and refined petroleum being top products, according to OEC data. Meanwhile, CAR exported about USD 123 mn to the UAE in the same year — mostly diamonds and gold.

REMEMBER- The UAE’s non-oil foreign trade grew 14.6% y-o-y to AED 3 tn in 2024, with non-oil goods exports driving this growth by increasing 27.6% y-o-y to AED 561.2 bn last year. The country is working towards its target of reaching AED 4 tn in annual foreign trade by 2031.

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