The UAE and Colombia have announced, in a joint statement, that they have completed phase one of their Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement: the UAE-Colombia CEPA.
Local reports said the agreement would help strengthen trade and investment relations between the two countries.
The UAE’s Ministry of Economy said it is continuing joint efforts to reach a final draft of the agreement aimed at serving their mutual objectives.
The agreement is expected to be finalized in three months, the ministry added.
I am pleased to announce we completed phase one of our CEPA negotiations with Colombia. The full deal will be concluded within three months, bringing opportunities in infrastructure, agriculture and food production – creating a new bridge between the Gulf and Latin America #trade
— د. ثاني الزيودي (@ThaniAlZeyoudi) March 31, 2022
As part of the UAE-Colombia CEPA, the two countries will also reduce or cancel customs tariffs on a wide range of goods, increase access to their markets, encourage mutual investments, create job opportunities, and enlarge the scope of their cooperation in priority sectors, including hospitality, tourism, infrastructure, agriculture and food production.
Phase one of the agreement includes key areas, including exchange of goods and services, customs procedures, and rules of origin.
Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, said Colombia is the third leading economy in Latin America, a key coffee producer, and a gateway for UAE-based companies to leverage promising economic opportunities in the region.
He added that the UAE-Colombia CEPA would be a significant driver for businesses in both countries.
Al Zeyoudi stressed that the agreement was part of the country’s program to form economic agreements with many countries and is a key driver of its efforts to bolster its openness to the world, to double its GDP in the coming decade, following the launch of the Principles of the 50 and the Projects of the 50.
UAE-Colombia relations have seen significant growth over the past few years, crowned by the visit of Ivan Duque Marquez, President of Colombia, to the UAE in November 2021.
That visit included a meeting with Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is also Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE.
The UAE is the main trading partner of Colombia in the Arab world, with their trade exchange accounting for 40 percent of Colombia’s trade with the region in 2020.
UAE-Colombia non-oil trade was valued at AED991 million ($269.84 million) last year.
Under the partnership, the two sides expect this figure to increase threefold in the years to come.