United Arab Emirates and Costa Rica reshaped economic relationship recently in San Jose. Rodrigo Chaves Robles, President of Costa Rica, warmly received Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, along with a distinguished Emirati delegation.
The centerpiece of this visit was the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), designed to amplify bilateral trade and investment through tariff eliminations, trade barrier reductions, and enhanced exchange of goods, capital, and ideas. Both nations highlighted the potential of this agreement to catalyze private sector cooperation across burgeoning sectors like renewable energy, tourism, food security, ICT, and manufacturing.
In meetings with Manuel Tovar, Costa Rica’s Minister of Foreign Trade, and other senior officials, Minister Al Zeyoudi lauded the robust non-oil trade already achieving a volume of $65 million in 2023. The discussions also touched on potential expansions in trade and investment, particularly emphasizing Costa Rica’s strategic economic promise in Central America within the transportation, logistics, and infrastructure domains.
Further interactions included strategic dialogues with Franz Tattenbach, Minister of Environment and Energy, and Efraim Zeledon Leiva, Deputy Minister of Public Works and Transport, aiming to uncover and leverage new economic opportunities, thus broadening the scope of bilateral trade and investment engagements.
The CEPA aligns with the UAE’s strategic vision to diversify its economy and escalate its non-oil foreign trade to over AED4 trillion by 2031. Minister Al Zeyoudi elucidated that this agreement ensures extensive market access, with 98 percent of tariff lines now duty-free or subject to reduced tariffs, thus facilitating diverse sectors including heavy industry, cultural, and sports services to thrive.
To solidify these burgeoning economic relations, Al Zeyoudi also participated in a high-level roundtable with leading corporate executives and investors from both nations. This assembly aimed at augmenting private sector collaboration, exploring new investment vistas, and reinforcing the UAE’s pivotal role as a global trade nucleus.
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