Mohammed bin Rashid: Economic talks enhance bilateral relations
While the UAE and Japan launched their talks to reach a comprehensive economic partnership agreement to open new horizons of development partnership, UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid stressed that launching economic talks between the two countries embodies their mutual keenness and shared vision to advance their relations to new levels of development partnership.
He also pointed out that this agreement supports efforts for economic diversification, innovation and investment, in addition to opening new horizons of cooperation, providing more opportunities for the business communities in both countries.
The UAE’s Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements Program is a fundamental pillar of sustainable economic growth and diversification efforts, and enhances the country’s non-oil foreign trade, which achieved unprecedented levels in the first half of 2024, recording AED 1.395 trillion, with a growth rate of 11.2% compared to the same period last year.
For his part, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that the governments of Japan and the UAE have decided to launch talks on an economic partnership agreement between the two countries, stressing the importance of launching these talks.
He expressed his hope that concluding an ambitious, balanced and comprehensive economic partnership agreement between Japan and the UAE, in addition to the free trade agreement between Japan and the Gulf Cooperation Council - whose talks will be held in parallel with the Japan-UAE talks - will contribute to strengthening economic relations, including expanding trade, investment and other areas between the two countries.
The two countries’ announcement of the start of these talks comes within the framework of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Initiative launched during the visit of His Highness Sheikh Khalid bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, to Japan in September 2022, and within the framework of the UAE’s strategy to expand its network of trading partners around the world under the umbrella of the “Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements Program” launched in September 2021.
The comprehensive economic partnership agreements concluded by the UAE with countries of strategic importance on the international trade map, under the umbrella of this program, aim to achieve sustainable economic growth, remove unnecessary trade barriers and improve access to markets for goods and services by eliminating or reducing customs duties.
Talks between the UAE and Japan to reach a comprehensive economic partnership agreement are based on a solid foundation of flourishing trade relations, as the UAE is Japan’s number one trading partner in terms of exports and imports in the Arab world, with the country receiving about 40% of Japan’s exports to Arab countries, while Japan is among the country’s top ten trading partners. Non-oil trade between the two countries continued to flourish in the first half of 2024, recording $8.1 billion, while reaching $17.3 billion by the end of 2023, an increase of 17.4% compared to 2022.
Since its launch, the programme has witnessed the signing of 11 official agreements so far with countries of strategic importance on the international trade map at the regional and global levels, including six agreements that have already entered into force.
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