India and the United Arab Emirates convened the third Joint Committee meeting under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in New Delhi, marking another significant step in strengthening economic ties between the two nations. The meeting was co-chaired by Ajay Bhadoo, Additional Secretary in India’s Department of Commerce, and Juma Al Kait, Assistant Undersecretary for International Trade Affairs of the UAE.
Both delegations acknowledged the impressive rise in bilateral trade, which surpassed US$100 billion in FY25—a growth of 19.6% over the previous year. This milestone further cements the UAE’s position as one of India’s most important trade partners and highlights the growing depth of CEPA-driven economic engagement.
The Joint Committee conducted a thorough evaluation of CEPA’s implementation so far. Discussions covered a wide range of issues, including market access improvements, enhanced data-sharing protocols, the Gold Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ), services trade, anti-dumping concerns, Rules of Origin, and the coordination process for Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certifications. India also detailed its plan to allocate the Gold TRQ through a transparent, competitive bidding framework to ensure fairness and clarity for stakeholders.
A major theme of the meeting was the mutual commitment to expanding non-oil and non-precious metals trade, with both countries reaffirming the shared goal of reaching the US$100 billion non-oil trade target by 2030. Delegations also highlighted the importance of regulatory alignment in the pharmaceutical sector and agreed to streamline the issuance of Certificates of Origin to improve efficiency for exporters.
Progress was also made toward finalizing a Memorandum of Understanding on Food Safety and Technical Requirements between India’s Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and the UAE’s Ministry of Climate Change and Environment. This MoU is expected to strengthen agriculture-related trade and enhance mutual standards compliance.
The meeting concluded with agreements to improve CEPA utilization rates, advance data-sharing pipelines, boost trade facilitation mechanisms, and activate the Services Subcommittee. Both sides emphasized that sustained cooperation under CEPA remains central to deepening commercial integration and unlocking wider market opportunities across sectors.
