Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Monday (13 December) said that India and the UAE will wrap up the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) by next month.

“Hopefully by the end of this month or next month, we hope to conclude them (the negotiations) so that this would probably be one of the fastest trade agreement between two countries ever made,” Goyal said, addressing the India Global Forum, UAE-2021 through video conference.

According to a Commerce Ministry release, Goyal said the agreement will be a mutually beneficial win-win solution for both countries, “provide market access to each other. Some of the elements of the agreement are the first of its kind, particularly for both countries.”

He said that this year Indian economy has been able to “largely recover” from what it had contracted last year due to the “very severe lockdown” the government had imposed to tackle the Covid.

“We have been able to look at very attractive growth rates, - Second quarter, that’s July-September, we grew at 8.4 per cent which is one of the fastest growing growth rates in the world today. Our investments are at an all-time high, we are getting some of the highest FDI or FPI in recent months. Indian businesses are showing more compliant growth, more profitability growth. In the last few months our exports have been at an all-time high, - both merchandise and in services," the minister said.