UAE and Serbia Presidents Oversee Comprehensive Economic Partnership Deal
Agreement Set to Boost Trade, Investment, and Economic Cooperation
UAE and Serbia Presidents Witness Historic CEPA Exchange
Belgrade, 5 October, 2024 – The President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the President of Serbia, His Excellency Aleksandar Vucic, today witnessed the exchange of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). and bilateral private sector cooperation.
CEPA hailed the exchange as an important milestone in relations between the UAE and Serbia. It will accelerate investment, promote knowledge sharing and create opportunities for joint ventures in high growth sectors. Serbia is an important addition to the CEPA program and a bridge to the high-potential region of Eastern Europe. The CEPA between the United Arab Emirates and Serbia represents our common goal of ushering in a new era of collaboration between our two nations and enabling long-term, sustainable economic progress for both.
Regarding the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, the president of Serbia emphasized its significance and expressed his hope that it would open up new avenues for economic cooperation and diversification, fostering long-term progress and prosperity for both nations.
The UAE-Serbia CEPA was exchanged during a ceremony by the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Dr. Thani bin Ahmad Al Jaodi, and the Minister of Internal and Foreign Trade of Serbia, His Excellency Tomislav Momirovic. The agreement will deepen trade and investment ties, accelerate growth in priority industries, create jobs, strengthen supply chains and enable private sector companies from both countries to trade in each other’s markets.
Once implemented, the UAE-Serbia CEPA is expected to eliminate or reduce product tariffs, remove unnecessary barriers to trade, protect intellectual property rights, support small and medium enterprises, and facilitate mutual investment flows.
CEPA fosters relations between the United Arab Emirates and Serbia. The UAE is the third largest market for Serbian exports in the Middle East, and FDI has increased to high-priority sectors including renewable energy, agriculture, food security, infrastructure and logistics.
The UAE’s CEPA program is a key pillar of the country’s development strategy, which aims to reach USD 1 trillion in total trade value by 2031 and double the size of the wider economy to exceed USD 800 billion by 2030. To date, the agreements have been implemented. Launched in September 2021, the program spans the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, South America and Eastern Europe, covering nearly a quarter of the world’s population. The UAE-Serbia CEPA will enter into force following a successful ratification process by both sides.
