Tuesday, 29/10/2024 09:45 (GMT+7)

Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement ushers in new era of Vietnam-UAE relations

The freshly-signed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) opens up a new era of the bilateral relationship that has been upgraded to a comprehensive partnership and growing substantively.

Ảnh đại diện tin bài

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (left) and UAE Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. (Photo: VNA)

The deal, the first free trade agreement Vietnam has established with an Arab country, was signed by Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien and UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai on October 28 (local time). Visiting Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and UAE Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum witnessed the signing of the agreement.

It is also expected to usher in a new period of the relations between Vietnam and Arab countries.

The signing came in the context of the thriving trade between Vietnam and the UAE, following a year of negotiations. It vividly demonstrates a joint commitment to advancing the bilateral trade-investment ties to a new height.

With 18 chapters, 15 appendices, and 2 bilateral letters, the CEPA covers areas such as trade in goods, services-investment, rules of origin, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, customs, trade remedies, government procurement, intellectual property, and legal and institutional affairs.

Under the agreement, both sides made strong commitments to trade liberalisation, with the UAE pledging to phase out tariffs on 99% of Vietnam’s exports, and Vietnam to remove tariffs on 98.5% of the UAE’s exports.

The agreement also includes various provisions facilitating trade and investment, aligning with digital digital transformation and green development trends.

Currently, the UAE is one of Vietnam's most important trade and investment partners in the Middle East, serving as a key gateway for the Southeast Asian nation to access markets in this region as well as in Western Asia and Africa. Additionally, their economic and trade structures are reciprocal.

Statistics show that the UAE is Vietnam's largest export market and its second-largest trade partner in Western Asia, after Kuwait.

According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, during the 2018-2023 span, the average annual trade turnover between the two countries reached approximately 5 billion USD, with Vietnam running a trade surplus from 3 to 4 billion USD per year.

The two-way trade was valued at nearly 4.7 billion USD in 2023, up 5.9% year-on-year, and 4.47 billion USD in the first eight months of this year, a 45% increase compared to the same period last year.

Vietnam’s main exports to the UAE included mobile phones, computers and components, electrical products, home electronics, pepper, aquatic products, footwear, garments-textiles, plastics, and furniture. Key items from the UAE to Vietnam consisted of raw plastics, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), petroleum-based products, animal feed ingredients, common metals, and chemicals.

Vietnam and the UAE on October 28 issued a Joint Statement on the upgrade of their relations to a Comprehensive Partnership on the occasion of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s official visit to the Middle East country./.

VNA
Vietnam won 4 Gold Medals at the International Chemistry Olympiad for the first time
Vietnam won 4 Gold Medals at the International Chemistry Olympiad for the first time

The 4 Gold Medals of the 2025 International Chemistry Olympiad belong to the following students: Ngo Quang Minh (grade 12, Bac Ninh High School for the Gifted, Bac Ninh province, ranked 7th); Nguyen Hoang Khoi (grade 12, High School for the Gifted, Hanoi National University of Education , ranked 10th); Giang Duc Dung (grade 12, High School for the Gifted in Natural Sciences, University of Natural Sciences - VNU, ranked 14th) and Nguyen Manh Tuan (grade 11, Hanoi-Amsterdam High School for the Gifted, Hanoi, ranked 37th).

The healthcare system urges the public to participate in blood donation
The healthcare system urges the public to participate in blood donation

During the peak months of July and August 2025, the National Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion needs at least 90,000 units of blood to supply 180 hospitals in the northern region. However, despite continuous efforts, the reserve blood is still short of 30,000 units. In particular, blood type O, the most commonly used blood type, is at an alarming level, requiring up to 15,000 units of blood.

From 2026 onward, everyone will have access to free regular health check-ups
From 2026 onward, everyone will have access to free regular health check-ups

At a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long on the afternoon of July 8, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Lien Huong said that the Politburo's draft Resolution on breakthroughs in public health care clearly states the policy of free periodic health check-ups or screening according to professional requirements for all people from next year.

Hanoi celebrates World Population Day
Hanoi celebrates World Population Day

The Hanoi ceremony highlighted efforts to ensure all citizens, especially women and youth, can access accurate information and healthcare services to make informed reproductive choices.

Expanding telehealth is on Vietnam’s agenda to better serve communities in hard-to-reach areas
Expanding telehealth is on Vietnam’s agenda to better serve communities in hard-to-reach areas

During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, in April 2020 during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hanoi Medical University Hospital launched its first trial telehealth sessions, connecting doctors in the capital with patients in Lao Cai, Ha Tinh and Thanh Hoa provinces. Hanoi Medical University Hospital launched its first trial telehealth sessions, connecting doctors in the capital with patients in Lao Cai, Ha Tinh and Thanh Hoa provinces.

Logo Báo điện tử Thừa Thiên Huế
© Copyright 2024 Children’s Health
Hotline: Hanoi - (024) 37 765 156 / HoChiMinh City - 0936813116
Logo Tạp chí Sức khỏe Trẻ em
Children's Health Magazine
Address: No. 42 Ngo Thi Nham, Ha Noi.
Phone: 0988158008; 0971251286.
Email: suckhoetreem2024@gmail.com.
Licence No. 526/GP-BVHTT dated December 12, 2002 by the Ministry of Culture and Sports.
STK: 0021000568719, Ngân hàng Vietcombank
Please clearly cite the source as Children's Health Magazine when republishing information from this website.
Designed by TriNamGroup
Content Managers:
Editor-in-chief: Dr. Tran Doan Tien
Deputy Editor-in-chief:Dr. Nguyen Van Minh
Head of Southern Representative Office:Dr. Nguyen Chi Tan
Head of Editorial Secretariat: Pham Viet Hung
Director of the Communications Center: Ha Dieu Hien
Deputy Head of Management Board: Le Minh Nam
Please clearly cite the source as Children's Health Magazine when republishing information from this website.
Designed by TriNamGroup