UAE signs free trade agreement with Mauritius, first in Africa
The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement will eliminate more than 97% of all import tariffs between the two countries
Thani Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade and Talent Attraction (Getty Images)
The UAE’s steady campaign to conclude free trade agreements with partner nations around the world has reached Africa.
In a ceremony on Monday, senior leaders of the UAE and Mauritius met in Dubai to sign a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement that will eliminate more than 97% of all import tariffs between the two countries.
Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, and Maneesh Gobin, the Mauritius Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, signed the document while Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth looked on via video link.
In the past three years, the UAE has signed free-trade pacts with India, Israel, Indonesia, Turkey, Cambodia and Georgia.
The agreement with Mauritius was the first with an African country. The UAE is also seeking to reopen trade talks with the EU by the end of the year, Al Zeyoudi told Reuters on Monday.