In a move aimed at promoting greater trade facilitation and ease of doing business, India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have signed a Mutual Recognition Arrangement for Authorized Economic Operators.
Key points
- The agreement was formally inked on June 23 on the sidelines of the 141st/142nd sessions of the World Customs Organization (WCO) Customs Co-operation Council meeting held in Brussels.
- The Mutual Recognition Arrangement establishes a framework that enables the recognition of Authorized Economic Operators (AEOs) from both countries.
- By mutually recognizing the AEO status, India and the UAE seek to streamline and expedite customs procedures, reducing administrative burden and costs for authorized businesses.
- The Mutual recognition arrangement comes as the continuation of historic India-United Arab Emirates (UAE) CEPA, which was signed between the two nations on 18 February 2022, officially came into force on 1 May 2022.
- CEPA is expected to increase the total value of bilateral trade in goods to over US$100 billion and trade in services to over US$15 billion within five years.
