On Wednesday, parliament was informed that the bilateral trade in goods will increase from $60 billion to $100 billion over the next five years after the free trade agreement is implemented.
The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was signed during the India-UAE Virtual Summit on February 18.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel said the India-UAE CEPA is a comprehensive and balanced partnership agreement that will give India enhanced market access for both goods and services.
According to her, the UAE has offered immediate market access at zero duties for India’s exports to the UAE that account for 90 per cent of the value of its exports to the UAE.
In her other reply, she said there is no shortage of coal supply from sources of Coal India Limited (CIL) to tea gardens in the northeastern region
She added, “CIL has provided coal supplies to the tune of 618.70 million tonnes (MT) during the current fiscal (up to March 9, 2011) in comparison to 531.4MT supplied during the same period last year, thereby achieving a growth of about 16.4%”.
In terms of trade in services, the UAE has granted India access to 111 sub-sectors from its 11 broad service sectors.
