The UAE is expected to sign a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (Cepa) with Chad by the end of the year and is currently in talks with other African countries, including Nigeria and Rwanda, to conclude similar deals, said Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Foreign Trade.
“We are in negotiations Cepa with Chad. We're done with the text, and we're moving toward the market access negotiation. I am very confident that we're going to conclude [the deal] before the end of the year,” Dr Al Zeyoudi said on the sidelines of UAE-Chad Trade and Investment Forum in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
UAE-Chad non-oil bilateral trade last year rose 32 per cent annually to $1.9 billion “and the momentum will continue", the minister added.
“Chad with stability, as well as with relations with the neighbours, we see there is always an area of collaboration between us, to make sure that we're taking some of the UAE experience when it comes to developments, stability, investments, growth into Chad and its neighbours,” Mr Al Zeyoudi said.
The Arab world’s second-largest economy is also holding talks to finalise Cepas with Nigeria and Rwanda and will soon begin negotiations with Ghana and South Africa.
“We're almost at the last steps of the negotiation on market access [with Nigeria] because the text is almost done and we are in a good, advanced stage with Rwanda,” Mr Al Zeyoudi said.
“Ghana also asked us to start the negotiation, so that is something which we're going to take soon. Last weekend, I met the South African minister [Mpho Parks Tau, Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition] and we agreed as well that we're going to start the discussion on Cepa.”
Over the past few years, the UAE has been building trade and investment ties around the world through Cepas to diversify its non-oil economic base.
The country is aiming to increase the value of its trade and hit $1 trillion by 2031. The Emirates also aims to double the size of its economy to exceed $800 billion by the same year, with Cepa programmes among the central planks of the national strategy.
Since it was launched in September 2021, the UAE's Cepa programme has concluded 28 agreements with countries around the globe.
Deals have become effective with India, Indonesia, Cambodia, Georgia, Costa Rica, Mauritius, Serbia, Jordan, Malaysia, New Zealand and Australia, data from the Ministry of Foreign Trade shows.
New agreements to boost investments in Chad
There were also more than 39 agreements worth $6.2 billion signed on the sidelines of the UAE-Chad Trade and Investment Forum on Monday, with the UAE signing 18, Mr Al Zeyoudi said.
The agreements were signed in sectors related to renewable energy, logistics and industrial zones.
"Abu Dhabi Ports is going to play a role in the improving the logistical connectivity within the country," Mr Al Zeyoudi said. "We also signed a couple of deals on the industrial zones, which is going to have huge job creation and that's purely done by private sector-led companies from the UAE side."
The UAE is also exploring mining, gold, other minerals and the financial sector as areas in which to increase investment in Chad, he added.
Speaking at the same forum, Chad President Mahamat Deby invited investment in the country.
Chad is seeking $30 billion in investments as part of its national development plan, Chad Connection 2030, to boost growth in the central African nation.
Its economy, which relies heavily on oil, is projected to grow 3.3 per cent in 2025, slightly slower than the 3.5 per cent expansion it recorded in 2024, the IMF has said. The Washington-based multilateral lender expects Chad's economy to grow 3.6 per cent in 2026.
Mr Deby said: "Our commitment is 100 per cent. Chad is a land of opportunities, the moment has come to make it economic success."
Chad offers a range of sectors for investment including clean energy, mining, communication and infrastructure development, he added.
