UAE, Morocco finalise terms of CEPA to strengthen trade ties

The United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Morocco have finalised the terms of a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) that will launch a new chapter of mutually beneficial trade and investment ties between the two countries.

The conclusion of negotiations was confirmed by the signing of a joint statement by Dr Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, and Ryad Mezzour, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Kingdom of Morocco.

Upon implementation, the UAE-Morocco CEPA will facilitate the free flow of goods and services by reducing or removing tariffs, eliminating unnecessary barriers to trade, improving market access for services, enhancing customs harmonisation and establishing flexible rules of origin for goods.

It will also establish platforms for investment and private-sector collaboration in priority sectors such as renewable energy, tourism, infrastructure, mining, food security, transport, logistics, and ICT.

The two nations shared $1.3 billion in non-oil trade in 2023, an increase of 30 per cent on 2022 and 83 per cent more than was recorded in 2019. The UAE is the largest Arab investor in Morocco with more than $15 billion invested in a variety of strategic projects.

Dr Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi welcomed the latest step in the UAE’s foreign agenda. He said, “The UAE-Morocco Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement is a valuable addition to our CEPA programme. Our two brotherly nations already enjoy strong bilateral economic relations, and this agreement will enable us to further develop areas of mutual benefit, particularly in sectors such as tourism, energy, manufacturing and agriculture, and generate long-term prosperity for both peoples. Morocco is one the largest and most competitive economies in Africa and we look forward to working in unison to create new opportunities for our private sectors.”

Ryad Mezzour, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Kingdom of Morocco, stated, “I signed today with my brother, Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, a joint declaration announcing the conclusion of negotiations between our two countries on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. This Agreement is part of the implementation of the Declaration signed by His Majesty King Mohammed VI and President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on 4th December, 2023 in Abu Dhabi, which aims to establish an innovative, renewed and solid partnership between the two brotherly countries.

“The agreement, which strengthens the legal arsenal between the two countries, aims to support the development of trade and investment, by opening new opportunities to upgrade the level of joint cooperation in economic and commercial fields,” he added. Morocco is the sixth largest economy on the African continent. In 2023, its GDP was $152.4 billion and is expected to grow by a further 3.5 per cent in 2024. While agriculture remains the largest employer, the services sector is the largest contributor to GDP accounting for 54 per cent, with the industrial sector contributing 23 per cent.

The UAE’s CEPA programme aims to increase the country’s non-oil foreign trade to Dhs4 trillion by expanding relations with strategically important markets around the world. In 2023, the UAE’s non-oil trade in goods reached an all-time high of $710 billion, a 12.6 per cent increase on 2022 - and 34.7 per cent more than 2021. Morocco is the latest African nation to conclude CEPA terms with the UAE, following Mauritius, Kenya and Congo-Brazzaville.

A few day earlier, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and the Honorable Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, Prime Minister of the Republic of Mauritius, witnessed in the signing of a landmark Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the two countries.

The agreement is the UAE’s first CEPA concluded with an African country and is expected to enhance UAE GDP by 0.96 per cent, while adding more than 1 per cent to the economy of Mauritius by 2030.

The UAE-Mauritius CEPA was signed during a ceremony by Dr Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, and Maneesh Gobin, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade of Mauritius. It is set to deepen trade and investment ties, accelerate growth in priority industries, create jobs, strengthen supply chains, and streamline market access for UAE and Mauritian businesses. It will see Mauritius eliminate 99 per cent of tariffs on imports from the UAE, while the UAE will eliminate 97 per cent overall.

The new deal builds on growing UAE-Mauritius economic relations, which from Jan to Apr 2024 saw non-oil trade reach $76 million, an increase of 82.5 per cent over the same period last year. In 2023, two-way trade value reached $170.4 million - 14.5 per cent growth compared to 2022.

The UAE is today the eighth-largest investor in Mauritius, with $13.2 billion invested in the country, supporting projects in tourism, real estate, renewable energy and technology.

Foreign trade remains the cornerstone of the UAE’s economic agenda. In 2023, the UAE’s non-oil trade in goods reached an all-time high of $701 billion, a 12.6 per cent increase on 2022 - and 34.7 per cent more than 2021.

WAM