The UAE and Central African Republic inked a comprehensive economic partnership agreement, aiming to boost bilateral trade from AED 925 mn last year to over AED 3.7 bn during the next five to seven years, Wam quotes 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: The agreement will grant the Central African Republic a 98% tariff removal on its exports to the UAE, while the African country will extend a 99.5% tariff removal for UAE exports. The UAE mostly exports consumer goods such as food products, textiles, and electronics, as well as machinery and pharma products to the Central African Republic.

The partnership will also see them boost investments 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.

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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