Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Pham Minh Chinh and Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum witnessed the handover ceremony of the Vietnam - UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. Photo: Cong Thuong Newspaper
CEPA is the first free trade agreement that Vietnam has signed with an Arab country, opening a new era in the upgraded and increasingly substantive relationship between Vietnam and the UAE in particular and Arab countries in general. The CEPA Agreement was signed in the context of the strong development of bilateral trade relations between Vietnam and the UAE. The signing of the Agreement after a record one-year negotiation period with 5 official negotiation sessions, including 3 direct sessions at the Ministerial level, is a clear demonstration of the commitment to bring trade and investment cooperation between the two sides to a new level.
The agreement consists of 18 Chapters, 15 Annexes and 2 bilateral letters with contents including trade in goods, services - investment, rules of origin, technical barriers to trade (TBT), sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS), customs, trade defense, government procurement, intellectual property, legal - institutional. Notably, the two sides agreed to make a strong commitment to trade liberalization with the UAE committing to eliminate tariffs according to the roadmap for 99% of Vietnam's export turnover to the UAE, while Vietnam also committed to eliminate tariffs according to the roadmap for 98.5% of UAE's export turnover to Vietnam. The agreement also includes many provisions to facilitate trade and investment, in line with current trends of digital transformation and green development.
Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien and UAE Minister of State for Economy Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi signed the CEPA Agreement - Photo: Industry and Trade Newspaper
Currently, the UAE is one of Vietnam's leading trade and investment partners in the Middle East, an important gateway for Vietnam to access markets in this region as well as other markets in West Asia and Africa. In addition, the economic and trade structures of the two countries are complementary. Therefore, CEPA is a favorable premise for Vietnam to promote the export of its strengths to the UAE and then to countries in the Middle East, West Asia and Africa; at the same time, it has the opportunity to access advanced technology, capital and quality services of the UAE, contributing to reducing production costs and improving the competitiveness of Vietnamese goods. In return, UAE goods and services will have the opportunity to access the Vietnamese market as well as ASEAN countries through Vietnam's strategic position in the region.
Currently, the UAE is Vietnam's largest export market and second largest trading partner (after Kuwait) in West Asia. Statistics from the General Department of Customs show that in the period 2018-2023, total trade between the two countries will average about 5 billion USD/year. In terms of trade balance, Vietnam always has a large trade surplus with the UAE market (from 3-4 billion USD/year). In 2023, total two-way trade will reach nearly 4.7 billion USD, up 5.9% compared to 2022, of which Vietnam's exports will reach more than 4 billion USD, up 4.3% and imports will reach over 676 million USD, up 16%. In the first 8 months of 2024, total two-way trade will reach over 4.47 billion USD, up 45% over the same period in 2023, of which Vietnam's exports will reach 3.85 billion USD, up 47.5% and imports will reach 623.5 million USD, up 32.5%. In terms of commodity structure, Vietnam's main export items to the UAE include mobile phones, computers and components, electrical products, household electronics, pepper, seafood, footwear, textiles, grain products, plastic products, wooden furniture, etc. Vietnam's main import items from the UAE include raw plastics, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), petroleum products, animal feed ingredients, base metals, and chemicals. |
Source: https://moit.gov.vn/tin-tuc/hoat-dong/hoat-dong-cua-lanh-dao-dang-nha-nuoc/viet-nam-va-uae-ky-hiep-dinh-doi-tac-kinh-te-toan-dien-cepa-.html
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