UAE and Mauritius conclude talks on Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement

Mauritius on Friday concluded talks with the UAE on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, the first of its kind between the Emirates and an African country.

The partnership paves the way for increased trade, investment and private-sector cooperation between the countries, according to reports.

The negotiations in Mauritius concluded, just four months after the first round of talks, with the signing of a joint statement by UAE’s minister of state for foreign trade, Thani Al-Zeyoudi, and the Mauritian minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Maneesh Gobin.

The agreement, which builds on almost five decades of ties, including recent developments such as the opening of the Mauritius Economic Development Board’s Dubai office, covers trade in goods and services, and investment opportunities, among other things, officials said.

“Once implemented, it will accelerate robust growth in non-oil bilateral trade between the UAE and Mauritius, which in (the first half of) 2023 stood at $63.1 million, with stronger opportunities in chemicals, metals and petroleum products sectors,” according to the report.

“With the potential to fully add 1% to the Mauritius economy by 2031 and enhance the UAE’s GDP by 1.2% in the same period, a UAE-Mauritius CEPA 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 (small and medium-sized enterprise) support,” Al Zeyoudi was quoted as saying. said.

Source: Arab News