UAE to Start Trade Talks with Japan Soon

Close on the heels of Australia concluding talks with the UAE on free trade agreement yesterday, the UAE President H H Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Wednesday announced that the Emirates will begin negotiations with Japan to reach a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the UAE President said: “Building on our longstanding history of strategic cooperation, the UAE and Japan today agreed to launch talks aimed at reaching a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. We look forward to strengthening our bilateral ties and exploring new opportunities that support sustainable economic growth for both countries.”

In a separate post on X, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that concluding CEPA with the UAE, as well as the Japan-GCC foreign trade agreement, that is currently being negotiated in parallel, will strengthen the economic relations between the two countries.

Japan’s Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko hoped that concluding an ambitious, balanced CEPA between the two countries, in addition to the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Japan and the GCC being negotiated in parallel, will contribute to strengthening bilateral economic relations, including the expansion of trade and investment and other areas.

“Japan will continue to broaden cooperative relations in various areas while strengthening wide-ranging economic relations with the UAE,” Yoko said.

Even the UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Trade Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi said on X that the launch of trade talks between the two countries is a milestone in the Emirates’ foreign trade agenda.

“Japan is an industrial giant, a tech pioneer, and a leader in advanced manufacturing, and the benefit of closer collaboration is clear,” the Minister said.

The proposed talks will help reduce tariffs and stimulate new opportunities for sustainable growth in strategic sectors, which would establish new prospects for investment and allow more market access for businesses, the UAE Minister said.

Aligns with UAE’s Strategy

The announcement of the UAE-Japan talks comes within the framework of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Initiative, launched during the visit of H H Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, to Japan in September 2022.

It also aligns with the UAE’s strategy to expand its network of trade partners through the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement programme, which was launched in September 2021 to achieve sustainable economic growth by removing unnecessary barriers to trade and improving market access for services, including the elimination or reduction of customs duties.

The CEPA talks announced today are built on flourishing trade relations. The UAE is Japan’s top trading partner in the Arab world in terms of exports and imports, with the UAE receiving 40 per cent of Japan’s exports to Arab countries. Meanwhile, Japan is among the UAE’s top ten trading partners globally.

Non-oil trade between the two countries continued to thrive in the first half of 2024, reaching $8.1 billion), while the total trade for 2023 stood at $17.3 billion), marking a 17.4% increase compared to 2022.

The UAE’s CEPA Programme is a cornerstone of national efforts to promote sustainable growth and economic diversification. It plays a pivotal role in boosting non-oil foreign trade, which surged to unprecedented levels in the first half of 2024, climbing 11.2% year-on-year to reach $380 billion.

Since its inception, the programme has witnessed the signing of 11 agreements to date with strategically important countries on the global trade map, including six agreements that are currently in effect.