UAE and Morocco sign Cepa terms to build on $1bn trade

Wam

The UAE and Morocco have finalised the terms of a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (Cepa) to boost trade and investment relations.

The Cepa aims to facilitate the free flow of goods and services by reducing and removing tariffs, eliminating unnecessary trade barriers, improving market access for services and easing customs rules, the UAE state-run Wam news agency reported.

The agreement will also establish investment and private-sector collaboration platforms in priority sectors such as renewable energy, tourism, infrastructure, mining, food security, transport, logistics, and technology.

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The UAE is the largest Arab investor in Morocco, having invested more than $15 billion in various strategic projects. Bilateral non-oil trade reached $1.3 billion in 2023, up 30 percent from 2022.

Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, the UAE’s minister of state for foreign trade, said the Cepa was “a valuable addition”.

“This agreement will enable us to further develop areas of mutual benefit, particularly in sectors such as tourism, energy, manufacturing and agriculture,” he said.

Morocco is one of the largest and most competitive economies in Africa, he said, adding that the UAE looked forward to working with the country to create new opportunities for the private sectors.

Morocco is the sixth-largest economy in the African continent. Its GDP was $152 billion in 2023 and it is expected to grow by a further 3.5 percent in 2024.

The UAE’s Cepa programme aims to increase the country’s non-oil foreign trade to AED4 trillion. The country's non-oil trade in goods reached an all-time high of $710 billion last year, a 12.6 percent increase from 2022.

Morocco is the latest African nation to conclude Cepa terms with the UAE, following Mauritius, Kenya and Congo-Brazzaville.