UAE, Chile sign comprehensive economic partnership

The United Arab Emirates and Chile signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA), UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan announced in a post on X on Monday.

The signing took place during a visit by Chilean President Gabriel Boric to Abu Dhabi.

The deal, which is set to create a range of new opportunities by eliminating or reducing customs duties covering 99.5 per cent of the value of the UAE’s imports from Chile, opening market access to services exports, removing unnecessary barriers to trade, and facilitating investment and joint-ventures.

Under these measures, the UAE-Chile CEPA is expected to increase non-oil bilateral to $750 million by 2030, more than doubling the $306 million shared in 2023. The deal is also projected to boost the value of UAE exports by $247 million by 2030, according to official UAE estimates.

The latest CEPA is the second deal the UAE has signed with a South American nation this year, following an earlier agreement inked with Colombia in April. The UAE launched the CEPA programme in September 2021 as a critical pillar of growth and diversification efforts.

I was pleased to meet Chilean President @GabrielBoric in Abu Dhabi today to discuss ways to enhance the strong ties between the UAE and Chile across key fields. Together, we witnessed the signing of the UAE-Chile Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which will build… pic.twitter.com/GH0rSWSruf

— محمد بن زايد (@MohamedBinZayed) July 29, 2024