UAE and India enter the ‘CEPA’ era with an eye on $100 billion in 5 years

News Network

February 19, 2022

Dubai, Feb 19: The UAE and India have signed a trade and economic partnership that will remove 80 per cent of the customs tariffs on goods produced and shipped out from the countries. The other 20 per cent will be phased out over time, and sets up a trade alliance that could touch $100 billion in the next five years from $60 billion plus now.

The deal, called the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), was signed in the virtual presence of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India.

“This agreement, which is considered the first of its kind, is among the economic projects that the UAE has set out for the next 50 years,” said Sheikh Mohamed. “This provides a strong basis for the continuous expansion of our common interest for the benefit of our people and for the fulfilment of their aspirations and better prosperity.”

UAE-led investments into India will translate into millions of new jobs, such as in the plastics industry which will also benefit from technology support.

A ‘reliable partner’

In his statement, Prime Minister Modi said: “Trade, investment, energy, and people-to-people contacts have been the pillars of our cooperation. At the same time, there are possibilities of enhancing cooperation in several new areas.

“The new MoU between us on food corridors is a very good initiative. We welcome investment from UAE in the areas of food processing and logistics. With this, India can become a reliable partner for UAE’s food security.”

Effective from May 1

The CEPA deal, which is the first trade deal entered into by India’s BJP-led NDA government, will formally take effect from early May, once the internal processes are completed in either country, according to Piyush Goyal, India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry.

The deal, details of which are still to come out in full, will provide the big banh needed for trade between UAE and India to move up a few gears. That up to 80 per cent of the goods traded will be covered under tariff concessions does push the possibilities for an immediate and significant spike in volumes.

On the areas that are not covered by the deal – the 20 per cent – Goyal said that these are areas of strategic interests to both countries and will require time for the duty structures to be rolled back.

Spread the word

India has invited top UAE Government officials in the first week of May to have round-table discussions with the country’s business community and get the word out on what CEPA could deliver as a win for all parties.

In his speech, Modi said: “Last year, alone India has seen the emergence of 44 unicorns. We can encourage startups in both of our countries by way of joint incubation and joint financing. Similarly, we can cooperate in modern institutions of excellence for the development of skills for our people.”

With CEPA, the “sky is the limit” for the UAE and India to achieve their ambitions and share in them.

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Hundreds of Palestinian kids kidnapped, imprisoned, tortured by Israel: UN expert expresses shock

News Network

November 14,2024

The UN special rapporteur for Palestine has slammed Israel’s parliament for passing a law authorizing the detention of Palestinian children, who are “tormented often beyond the breaking point” in Israeli custody.

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in a Thursday post on X, characterized the experiences of Palestinian minors in Israeli detention as extreme and often inhumane.

The UN expert highlighted the grave impact of this policy, noting that up to 700 Palestinian minors are taken into custody each year, a practice she described as part of an unlawful occupation that views these children as potential threats.

Albanese said Palestinian minors in Israeli custody are “tormented often beyond the breaking point” and that “generations of Palestinians will carry the scars and trauma from the Israeli mass incarceration system.”

She further criticized the international community for its inaction, suggesting that ongoing diplomatic efforts, which often rely on the idea of resuming negotiations for peace, have contributed to normalizing such human rights violations against Palestinian children and the broader population.

The comments by Albanese came in response to Israel’s parliament (Knesset) passing a law on November 7 that authorizes the detention of Palestinian children under the age of 14 for “terrorism or terrorist activities.”

Under the legislation, a temporary five-year measure, once the individuals turn 14, they will be transferred to adult prison to continue serving their sentences.

Additionally, the law allows for a three-year clause that enables courts to incarcerate minors in adult prisons for up to 10 days if they are considered dangerous. Courts have the authority to extend this duration if necessary, according to the Knesset.

The legislation underscores a shift in the treatment of minors and raises alarms among human rights advocates regarding the legal and ethical ramifications of detaining children and the conditions under which they may be held.

Thousands of Palestinians, including hundreds of children and women, are currently in Israeli jails—around one-third without charge or trial. Also, an unknown number are arbitrarily held following a wave of arrests in the wake of the regime's genocidal war on Gaza.

Since the onset of the Gaza war, the Israeli regime, under the supervision of extremist minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, has turned prisons and detention centers into “death chambers,” the ministry of detainees and ex-detainees’ affairs in Gaza says.

Violence, extreme hunger, humiliation, and other forms of abuse of Palestinian prisoners have been normalized across Israel’s jail system, reports indicate.

Over 270 Palestinian minors are being detained by Israeli authorities, in violation of UN resolutions and international treaties that forbid the incarceration of children, as reported by Palestinian rights organizations.

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