India, UAE review trade cooperation and CEPA progress

India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have engaged in talks to strengthen economic relations, addressing issues such as market access, data sharing, gold import quotas, anti-dumping measures, and services, the Commerce Ministry reported on Thursday (November 27, 2025).

These topics were discussed during the session of the joint committee established under the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

CEPA functions as a type of Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

“Both partners carried out an extensive review of the progress achieved under CEPA, holding in-depth discussions on market access, data exchange, gold Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) allocation, anti-dumping concerns, service sectors, rules of origin, and Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) licensing,” the statement noted.

The Indian delegation also informed the UAE about its recent initiative to distribute the gold TRQ through a transparent competitive bidding system.

The two nations also explored deeper regulatory collaboration in pharmaceuticals, the resolution of challenges related to certificates of origin, and the swift conclusion of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on food safety and technical criteria between the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) of India and the UAE’s Ministry of Climate Change and Environment.

Bilateral trade surpassed $100 billion in FY 2024–25, marking a 19.6% increase compared with 2023–24.

India and the UAE have also set a goal to expand their non-oil and non-precious metals trade to $100 billion by 2030.