India-UAE CEPA pushes trade to $37.6 billion in H1 2025
Dubai: The UAE-India Business Council – UAE Chapter (UIBC-UC) has released a landmark study highlighting the sweeping impact of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) on bilateral trade and investment.
According to the report, covered by Gulf News, non-oil bilateral trade between India and the UAE touched US$37.6 billion in the first half of 2025, marking a 33.9% increase compared to the same period in 2024.
The study, titled “Strength in Synergy: Unlocking India-UAE CEPA Global Potential,” was launched following a closed-door meeting in Dubai attended by Piyush Goyal, India’s Commerce and Industry Minister, and Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of Foreign Trade, alongside senior business leaders.
Gulf News reported that CEPA has broadened opportunities in sectors such as gems and jewellery, food processing, telecom, green energy, and digital services. New growth avenues are also emerging in artificial intelligence, space technology, sustainability, and financial integration, making the agreement far more than a conventional trade deal.
The report also stresses the UAE’s role as a preferred hub for Indian high-net-worth individuals and family offices, fostering joint ventures and deepening economic alignment.
Faizal Kottikollon, Chairman of UIBC-UC, described CEPA as a “blueprint for the future.” He said the pact demonstrates how political will and shared vision can build a resilient model of cross-regional cooperation and innovation-led growth.
As Gulf News highlighted, the study recommends enhanced collaboration in clean energy, digital integration, education, research ecosystems, and human capital development, while positioning CEPA within global platforms like BRICS, G20, and the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC).
The UIBC-UC paper, reported by Gulf News, concludes that CEPA is not just strengthening trade but also reshaping the long-term strategic and economic partnership between the two nations.
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'Rear-guard action': BJP over Mamata accepting sports minister's resignation after Messi event
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Tuesday alleged that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's accepting Aroop Biswas' resignation as the state sports minister is nothing but a "rear-guard action" to douse public anger over the mismanagement of football icon Lionel Messi's event last week.
BJP co-in-charge for West Bengal Amit Malviya alleged that this is also an "open confession" that the Messi event fiasco was not accidental but a government-manufactured disaster, borne out of the poor governance of Banerjee, her ministers and the state bureaucracy.
Banerjee on Tuesday accepted Biswas' resignation as the sports minister in the wake of the controversy over the mismanagement of football icon Messi's event last week, a senior leader of the ruling TMC said.
Biswas, who had written to the chief minister seeking to be relieved of his responsibilities as sports minister, will continue as a cabinet minister, retaining charge of the power department.
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Reacting to the development, Malviya said in a post on X, "TMC Sports Minister Aroop Biswas resigns after the Messi fiasco and Mamata Banerjee accepts it in record time."
"Do not mistake this for accountability; this is nothing but a rear-guard action to douse public anger. anger! This is not 'Raj Dharma'," he added.
The BJP leader alleged that the incident was the outcome of "loot" of common people which is "so synonymous" with the TMC.
The incident was also the outcome of the "shameless VIP culture that TMC thrives on and deep-rooted cronyism promoted by Banerjee," he charged.
Malviya further alleged that Biswas' resignation exposes a "collective failure of Mamata Banerjee, her partisan bureaucracy, and her crony cabinet".
"This is a symbolic sacrifice, a political hoax, soon to be buried under layers of bureaucracy, with no justice, no accountability, and no remorse," the BJP leader said, adding, "No resignation will bring back the time lost, the money wasted, or the stolen chance for football lovers to witness Messi in Kolkata."
