New Delhi, Feb 14 (PTI) India and the UAE are likely to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) on February 18, under which both the countries could give duty-free access to a number of products from different sectors, sources said.

In September last year, India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had formally launched negotiations on the pact, officially dubbed as the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

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Under such an agreement, two trading partners reduce or eliminate customs duties on the maximum number of goods traded between them. Besides, they liberalise norms to enhance trade in services and boost investments.

This would be the second such agreement to be signed by the current government.

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In February last year, India had inked the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) with Mauritius.

"The India-UAE agreement is ready and it would be signed on February 18," a source said.

Bilateral trade between India and the UAE stood at USD 43.3 billion in 2020-21. Exports were USD 16.7 billion and imports aggregated at USD 26.7 billion in 2020-21.

Last week, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal had said "we hope to make some announcements very quickly" on the India-UAE trade agreement.

Earlier, he had stated that the UAE is a gateway to all of Africa and many other parts of the world.

The UAE also has a huge Indian diaspora, and a large market for products like textiles, gems and jewellery, leather, footwear and food items, which are labour oriented sectors, he had said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)