UAE And South Korea Sign CEPA To Boost Economic Relations

The United Arab Emirates and South Korea have signed the landmark Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). The pact, which is expected to strengthen trade and economic relations between both countries, was signed on Wednesday during UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan's visit to Seoul.

The agreement was signed by UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi and South Korea's Trade, Industry, and Energy Minister Ahn Duk-Geun. The UAE President welcomed the agreement and said that the UAE and South Korea share a vision of progress, innovation, and sustainable development, reported Emirates News Agency. This pact between both countries is the latest in the UAE’s CEPA foreign trade programme. The goal of this project was to increase non-oil foreign trade beyond AED 4 trillion by 2031 by lowering or eliminating tariffs, improving exporters' access to markets, and eliminating trade barriers.

I was pleased to meet @President_KR Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul and engage in constructive discussions on strengthening bilateral ties. Together, we witnessed the signing of numerous MoUs and the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the UAE and Republic of Korea.… pic.twitter.com/LY1j1dKryZ

— محمد بن زايد (@MohamedBinZayed) May 29, 2024

As part of the agreement, investors and firms from both countries will benefit from the elimination of almost all tariffs. This comes in addition to greater access to markets in fast-growing regions of the Middle East and Asia. The UAE and South Korea also signed a framework agreement on climate change cooperation.