New Delhi, June 13 (KNN) United Arab Emirates (UAE) and India on Monday agreed to set-up a UAE-India CEPA Council (UICC) as a B2B collaboration mechanism, with a focus on MSMEs and start-ups, for building greater economic linkages and optimizing CEPA benefits.

Discussing at the 1st Meeting of the Joint Committee (JC) of the India-UAE CEPA both the sides agreed on creation of a new sub-committee on Trade in Services. 

During the JC, both sides, inter-alia, reviewed the bilateral trade under the CEPA, and agreed to operationalize the established committees/sub-committees/technical council under the CEPA. 

They agreed on mutual exchange of preferential trade data on quarterly basis for effective monitoring of the CEPA, discussed various matters related to the implementation of the Agreement and agreed on addressing any issue that may potentially act as a hindrance to CEPA implementation or its usage by businesses on both sides. 

Both sides also exchanged views on WTO matters. The 13th Ministerial Conference of the WTO (MC13) is scheduled to be held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, during the week of 26 February 2024.

A high-level delegation from the UAE, comprising senior officials of the Government of the UAE and representatives from the business community of the UAE, led by Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade of the UAE, visited India on 11-12 June 2023. 

The visit also marked the India leg of the 1st Anniversary of the Implementation of the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).  (KNN Bureau)