HANOI (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates and Vietnam have signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA), the first free-trade agreement Vietnam has established with a Middle East country, the Vietnamese trade ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
The agreement followed a year of negotiations and was signed by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Dubai on Monday, the ministry said in a statement.
It said the deal would open the way for exporters and investors in agriculture, energy, technology and logistics as the country looked to boost trade with the Middle East.
Under the CEPA, the UAE has committed to phasing out tariffs on 99% of Vietnam’s exports, and Hanoi has pledged to remove tariffs on 98.5% of the UAE’s exports .
Last year, trade turnover between the two countries reached around $4.7 billion, an increase of 6% compared to 2022, the ministry said.
(Reporting by Phuong Nguyen; Editing by John Mair)
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