PH says ‘significant progress’ made in latest UAE FTA talks

Flags of the United Arab Emirates (L) and the Philippines | STOCK PHOTOS

A high-ranking Philippine trade official on Thursday said that there was “significant progress” made during the second round of negotiations for the planned free trade agreement (FTA) with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), citing both parties are still on track to finish the pact by year-end.

Trade undersecretary Allan Gepty said this in a message sent to the Inquirer following the conclusion of the three-day negotiations in Manila for the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the middle eastern country.

“I can say that we made significant progress and based on the timeline we have agreed, we are still on track. Our third round of negotiations will be in August but we will try to have intersessional meetings to resolve as many outstanding issues as possible,” Gepty said.

“We hope that in the 4th round of negotiations we will just focus on the remaining issues and refinements of text,” he added.

Gepty said that both sides are working hard to conclude the negotiations this year in time for the 50th year anniversary of the establishment of the Philippines’ diplomatic relations with UAE.

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He said further that the completion of the CEPA is a milestone in the Philippines’ international trade relations, citing that it will be the country’s first FTA with a middle eastern country.

“Our stakeholders have an increasing presence also in the UAE, particularly our professionals, service suppliers and investors. Thus, with the CEPA, we can encourage more economic engagements with the UAE,” Gepty said.

The first round of the CEPA negotiations which lasted three days was held back in May in Dubai.

Gepty had said that the Philippines was targeting to expand its market access of export halal-related products in the UAE under the CEPA.

The Philippines is also hoping for better market access for other goods such as tropical fruits and garments, as well as high-end, finished consumer goods like luxury watches, belts and other leather products.

The CEPA will be the Philippines fourth bilateral FTA if it pushes through, adding to the Philippines-South Korea FTA in 2023, the Philippines-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (PJEPA) in 2006 and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in 2016.

In 2023, two-way trade between the Philippines and the UAE reached $1.88 billion., with exports and imports totaling 341.97 million and $1.54 billion, respectively.