UAE-Thailand CEPA talks conclude as H1 trade hits $10.2bn

The UAE-Thailand CEPA negotiations concluded in Bangkok on Thursday, clearing the way for a trade pact between two economies whose non-oil trade reached $10.2 billion in the first half of 2026.

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Trade announced on 8 October the end of talks on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement after a meeting between Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of Foreign Trade, and Anutin Charnvirakul, Prime Minister of Thailand. Suphajee Suthumpun, Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce, and Obaid Saeed Al Dhaheri, UAE Ambassador to Thailand, also attended.

The agreement has not yet been signed. Both governments will now complete the legal and technical procedures required for official signing and entry into force, according to the ministry’s statement, which was distributed by state news agency WAM. No date was given for either step.

Non-oil trade up 75.4% in six months

The talks closed against a background of fast-rising commerce. Non-oil trade between the two countries reached $10.2 billion in the first six months of 2026, up 75.4% on the same period of 2025, the ministry said.

For 2025 as a whole, the figure stood at $12.3 billion, an increase of 65.2% on 2024. This year’s first-half total is therefore already equal to more than four-fifths of last year’s full-year result.

The flow currently favours Thai exporters. The UAE’s non-oil exports to Thailand were $4.5 billion in 2025, led by gold, aluminium products and other industrial goods, while imports from Thailand were $7.2 billion, the ministry’s figures show.

What the UAE-Thailand CEPA covers

Detailed terms, including tariff schedules, have not been published. The ministry said that once the agreement is signed, ratified and in force, it is expected to speed up trade, open new investment opportunities and strengthen cooperation between private companies.

It named six priority sectors: advanced manufacturing, logistics, food security, digital trade, renewable energy and precious metals.

Al Zeyoudi said the deal reflected a commitment to building “stronger economic bridges between Southeast Asia and the Middle East”. He described Thailand as one of the most dynamic and diversified economies in its region.

The minister added that lower trade barriers, better market access and higher investment flows would reinforce the UAE’s position as a trade and investment hub linking Asia, Africa and Europe.

Anutin said the agreement would take economic and trade relations between the two countries to a new level. He said it would also create opportunities for private companies on both sides, according to the statement.

During the visit, Al Zeyoudi met Thai companies and institutions from the trade, investment, industrial and services sectors. Discussions covered partnerships, two-way investment, supply chains and the expansion of Emirati and Thai firms into each other’s markets.

Why it matters and what happens next

Negotiations were launched in May 2023, three months after the first UAE-Thai Business Council was established in February of that year. The talks therefore ran for more than three years before Thursday’s announcement.

The deal is the 38th in the UAE’s CEPA programme, The National reported. The programme is a central part of a government target to raise the country’s non-oil foreign trade to AED4 trillion ($1.1 trillion) by 2031.

For UAE exporters, the pact covers a market where sales are concentrated in gold and aluminium. The ministry’s priority list, which includes advanced manufacturing, food security and renewable energy, extends well beyond those goods.

For Thai companies, the UAE is already a larger buyer than seller. The ministry said the agreement is expected to make Emirati and Thai firms more competitive in each other’s markets and in the wider regions around them.

Investors will look to the published text of the UAE-Thailand CEPA to see how quickly tariffs fall and which goods and services are included. Until the agreement is signed and ratified by both countries, existing trade terms continue to apply.

The ministry said the pact should provide a more stable and attractive business environment once it takes effect. It did not give a timetable for signing or ratification.