Hanoi (VNA) - The appro⛄val of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) will help exploit the potential in complementary import and export activities between Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

While Vietnam's exports to many markets have reached the threshold, the UAE is considered a very promising market, opening opportunities for many agricultural and aquatic products from Vietnam. Experts said the adoption of the CEPA will help exploit the potential for import and export activities between the two economies, which can complement each other.

Ample room remains

A Ministry of Industry and Trade report shows that the UAE is Vietnam's largest trading partner in the Middle East-North Africa region. Vietnam’s key export commodities to the UAE such as agricultural products, seafood, processed foods, textiles and footwear, etc. continue to grow in both volume and value of exports. In the first three months of 2023 alone, two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and the UAE was estimated at over 1.12 billion USD, a sharp increase of 22.14% over the same period in 2022. According to Truong Xuan Trung from the Vietnam Trade Office in the UAE, with a population of only about 9.35 million people, the UAE's GDP is currently about 415 billion USD, GDP per capita is 44,315 USD per person per year, a relatively high number. Moreover, agriculture accounts for less than 1% of the economic structure, so the country has to import most of the food and foodstuffs to serve the people’s needs. Some Vietnamese products enjoy a large market share and will continue to be able to export to the UAE market this year. Vegetables, dragon fruit, watermelon and seedless lemons from Vietnam are dominating the UAE market in particular, as well as the markets of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in general. Not only agricultural and aquatic products, Trung said, some processed industrial products from Vietnam can be shipped to the UAE. Vietnam can increase the exports of suitcases and bags; wood and wooded products; garment - textiles; and footwear.

Gateway to the Middle East market

Director of the Multilateral Trade Policy Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade Luong Hoang Thai said CEPA not only helps to directly export goods to the UAE but also helps Vietnamese goods penetrate the Middle East market. through the “UAE gateway.” Meanwhile, Le Hoang Anh, former Director of the Asia-Africa Market Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), emphasized that the ministry will continue to promote exports to markets that Vietnam has signed FTAs with, focusing on learning the experiences of countries taking advantage of FTAs to make necessary recommendations for Vietnamese businesses. UAE is a key market in the Middle East, a focal point for countries such as Africa, Latin America, and Europe and Asia in general. Thanks to the well-constructed seaport infrastructure and the development of aviation, it will be very easy to connect to these markets. However, according to the Vietnam Trade Office in the UAE, this is a fiercely competitive market in both price and quality. And this is also the biggest challenge for Vietnamese businesses. In order to further promote the export of Vietnamese goods to the UAE, Vietnamese enterprises need to apply science and technology in production, innovate management methods, and minimize intermediaries to reduce product costs and increase the competitiveness of Vietnamese products./.