Indian Minister: Economic partnership agreement between UAE, India in final stages

The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between UAE and India is in it the final stages of negotiation, according to India’s Minister for Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal.

The Minister said that there is "a lot of good news coming up," and hinted at favourable outcomes for businesses that trade between the two regions.

This deal would essentially see a free trade policy between the two countries, thereby reducing the barriers to doing business.

Goyal told industrialists and export facilitators during a meeting in Mumbai that the "UAE is the gateway to the GCC and to all of Africa," as the country works towards becoming the leading trading partner of the UAE.

"India-UAE bilateral relations have led to tremendous growth in the past few years and created a framework for strategic partnerships," said B Thiagarajan, Chairman for the Western Region of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) during the seminar.

The UAE recently committed $100 billion for investment and infrastructure creation in India.