The India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), signed in 2022, marks a significant transformation in the trajectory of bilateral relations between India and the United Arab Emirates. Moving beyond the traditional framework of energy dependence and diaspora-driven engagement, CEPA has institutionalised a broader framework of economic cooperation centred on trade expansion, investment facilitation, strategic connectivity, and geo-economic partnership. This paper aims to examines how CEPA has emerged as a critical instrument for deepening India-UAE economic relations in an increasingly interdependent global order.
The study analyses the opportunities generated by CEPA across key sectors including trade, infrastructure, logistics, food security, digital economy, renewable energy, and investment cooperation. It further explores how the agreement complements the broader strategic objectives of both countries, particularly India’s evolving West Asia policy and the UAE’s economic diversification strategy. The paper argues that CEPA reflects a growing shift from transactional economic engagement toward strategic economic interdependence driven by shared geopolitical and geo-economic interests. At the same time, the paper critically evaluates the challenges associated with the implementation of CEPA, including trade imbalances, regulatory barriers, global economic uncertainties, and sectoral vulnerabilities.
The paper concludes that India-UAE CEPA is not merely a trade agreement but a strategic mechanism reshaping the economic and political foundations of bilateral relations, with the potential to redefine economic cooperation between South Asia and West Asia in the coming decades.
