UAE-Jordan Bilateral Trade Projected to Reach $8 Billion by 2032 After CEPA Signing
RIYADH: Bilateral trade between the United Arab Emirates and Jordan will rise to $8 billion in 2032 and will increase to $4.2 billion in 2023, a top official said, following the signing of a comprehensive economic partnership agreement.
Minister of Foreign Trade of the United Arab Emirates, Thani Bin Ahmed Al-Siodi, Oct. The CEPA, signed on the 6th, emphasized that it will create growth opportunities for industries, young entrepreneurs and startups in both countries.
He noted that the agreement was reached following a series of negotiations and coordination meetings held in a short period of time, according to a report by state news agency WAM.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been actively bolstering its worldwide trade links to promote non-oil trade as part of its economic diversification initiatives. In September, it completed negotiations to sign CEPA agreements with Australia and New Zealand and scheduled talks with Japan. Agree.
“The agreement will enter into force later this year after its ratification, and it will mark the culmination of a long-standing, deep-rooted relationship between the two brotherly countries and their people,” Al-Zeyoudi told WAM after signing the CEPA with Jordan. .
Mutual investments between the UAE and Jordan are estimated at around $22.5 billion, the minister said, with the Gulf nation being the largest international investor with its Middle Eastern neighbor at $4 billion, accounting for 14 percent of the emirate’s total foreign direct investment.
He said tourism, hospitality, real estate and renewable energy, transport, logistics, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and food security are promising areas of investment that both countries can explore.
Non-oil trade between the UAE and Jordan will exceed $4.2 billion in 2023, reflecting a 37.9 percent increase compared to 2021 and a 47.7 percent rise from 2019.
CEPA follows last month’s $2.3 billion deal to upgrade a 360-km rail network linking Jordan’s port of Aqaba with its mining hubs of Al-Shidiya and Ghor Al-Safi.
According to a press release, the project will be developed and operated by the UAE’s Etihad Rail and is part of a $5.5 billion investment package agreed by the two countries by November 2023.
The UAE has previously signed CEPAs with countries including India, Turkey, Indonesia and Cambodia, all of which are expected to support the country’s economy, which is expected to grow 4 percent this year, according to a report from its central bank last month.