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UAE, Malaysia Sign Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement

The agreement is designed to accelerate bilateral trade, promote private sector collaboration, and create new opportunities for investment in high-growth sectors. WAM
The agreement is designed to accelerate bilateral trade, promote private sector collaboration, and create new opportunities for investment in high-growth sectors. WAM
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UAE, Malaysia Sign Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement

The agreement is designed to accelerate bilateral trade, promote private sector collaboration, and create new opportunities for investment in high-growth sectors. WAM
The agreement is designed to accelerate bilateral trade, promote private sector collaboration, and create new opportunities for investment in high-growth sectors. WAM

The United Arab Emirates and Malaysia have signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) during a ceremony witnessed by President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported Tuesday.

The agreement is designed to accelerate bilateral trade, promote private sector collaboration, and create new opportunities for investment in high-growth sectors, WAM said.

The CEPA was signed at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center (ADNEC) by Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, and Malaysia’s Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Tengku Zafrul Aziz.

Sheikh Mohamed emphasized the significance of the agreement in strengthening the economies of both nations, noting that it is a pivotal milestone in UAE-Malaysia relations.

He remarked that Malaysia, with its fast-growing economy and pro-trade policies, is a vital partner in Southeast Asia. He noted that the agreement aims to deepen cooperation in key sectors, reinforce supply chains, unlock investment potential, and open new doors for the two countries’ private sectors to thrive together.

The UAE-Malaysia CEPA will reduce or eliminate tariffs on a wide range of goods, streamline trade procedures, and enhance market access for service exports. Malaysia, Southeast Asia’s fourth-largest economy, is already one of the UAE’s top trading partners in the ASEAN region, with non-oil bilateral trade reaching $4.9 billion in 2023 and $4 billion in the first nine months of 2024. The UAE is also Malaysia’s second-largest trade partner in the Arab world, accounting for 32% of Malaysia’s trade with Arab nations.

The agreement is projected to solidify the UAE as a strategic hub for Malaysian exports to the Middle East, North Africa, and beyond while opening the ASEAN market to UAE investors and entrepreneurs.

The UAE’s CEPA program is a cornerstone of its efforts to drive non-oil foreign trade to AED 4 trillion ($1.1 trillion) by 2031 and foster international cooperation with strategic markets such as the ASEAN bloc, which boasts a GDP of more than $2.9 trillion and a population of 647 million people.

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Egypt’s Investment Ministry Says Next Phase Demands Shift Beyond Fintech

Mohamed Farid, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, at the “Disruptech Sharm 2026 – Fintech and Beyond” conference. (Egyptian Ministry of Investment).
Mohamed Farid, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, at the “Disruptech Sharm 2026 – Fintech and Beyond” conference. (Egyptian Ministry of Investment).
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Egypt’s Investment Ministry Says Next Phase Demands Shift Beyond Fintech

Mohamed Farid, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, at the “Disruptech Sharm 2026 – Fintech and Beyond” conference. (Egyptian Ministry of Investment).
Mohamed Farid, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, at the “Disruptech Sharm 2026 – Fintech and Beyond” conference. (Egyptian Ministry of Investment).

Egypt’s Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Mohamed Farid said the next phase of the country’s investment climate requires moving beyond traditional financial technology toward more advanced applications, including supervisory technology (SupTech) and TradeTech, to boost market efficiency, competitiveness and support for investment and trade.

Speaking at the fourth edition of the “Disruptech Sharm 2026 – Fintech and Beyond” conference, Farid said TradeTech would play a central role in strengthening domestic and export trade.

The event was attended by 16 global, regional and local investment funds, as well as senior executives from Egyptian and regional investment banks.

Farid explained that TradeTech can enhance data collection and analysis, improve supply chain and logistics management, and connect exporters and traders with service providers. He said that these developments would help reduce costs and raise the competitiveness of Egyptian products in global markets.

He highlighted the government’s coordinated efforts to support innovation, citing regulatory frameworks issued by the Financial Regulatory Authority and the Central Bank of Egypt, alongside recent decisions by the ministerial committee for entrepreneurship, including the Startup Charter.

Together, he said, these measures reflect a clear policy direction toward fostering a more supportive environment for innovation and startups.

The minister revealed that the ministry is studying the establishment of regulatory sandboxes in cooperation with relevant authorities, including the General Organization for Export and Import Control. The initiative aims to facilitate exporters’ operations, enhance investor confidence, and better integrate importers and exporters into logistics and trade services by testing and supporting innovative solutions to upgrade Egypt’s foreign trade system.

Egypt has made notable progress in updating legislative and regulatory frameworks that support innovation and entrepreneurship, particularly within financial oversight institutions, Farid noted.

These reforms have contributed to a more flexible and competitive market, reflected in strong growth in companies operating across consumer finance, microfinance and trade finance, including factoring, he went on to say.

Moreover, he said that the digitization of trade policies and programs will be a priority in the coming period, with an emphasis on building accurate and integrated databases to support decision-making and strengthen economic competitiveness.

Farid also pointed to upcoming steps to ease access to financing for startups that have moved beyond the idea stage, in cooperation with investment funds, enabling them to expand and grow sustainably.

He underscored his personal commitment to following up on the implementation of these initiatives and strengthening engagement with investors and the business community, as Egypt seeks deeper integration into regional and global value chains.

Business

Safran to Open Landing Gear Plant in Morocco

Safran Group logo is seen in this illustration taken July 26, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
Safran Group logo is seen in this illustration taken July 26, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
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Safran to Open Landing Gear Plant in Morocco

Safran Group logo is seen in this illustration taken July 26, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
Safran Group logo is seen in this illustration taken July 26, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

Safran Landing Systems, a subsidiary of French aerospace group Safran, signed a deal with Morocco to set up a landing gear factory near Casablanca worth 280 million euros ($332 mln) to supply the Airbus A320, Safran Chair Ross McIness said.

The new plant will help Safran support the production pace of the Airbus A320 family and prepare the next generation of short and medium-haul aircraft, McIness said at the deal's signing ceremony chaired by Morocco's King Mohammed VI at the Royal Palace in Casablanca.

The plant is a step forward in Morocco's plan to strengthen its position in global aerospace industry supply chains, Moroccan industry minister Ryad Mezzour said on the same occasion.

The factory, set to be one of the largest of its kind, is expected to start production in 2029, Safran's communications said.

In October, Safran signed deals with the Moroccan government to set up a new engine assembly line for Airbus jets and a new maintenance and repair plant in Midparc, an industrial zone near Casablanca dedicated to aerospace manufacturers.

With 150 firms, Morocco's aerospace sector employs 25,000 people. Its exports rose to 29 billion dirhams ($3 billion) in 2025 from 26.4 billion dirhams a year earlier.

Business

China to Scrap Tariffs for Most of Africa from May

Visitors walk past illuminated lantern displays ahead of Lunar New Year in Beijing, China, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Visitors walk past illuminated lantern displays ahead of Lunar New Year in Beijing, China, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
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China to Scrap Tariffs for Most of Africa from May

Visitors walk past illuminated lantern displays ahead of Lunar New Year in Beijing, China, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Visitors walk past illuminated lantern displays ahead of Lunar New Year in Beijing, China, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Beijing's scrapping of tariffs for all but one African country will start May 1, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Saturday, according to state media.

China already has a zero-tariff policy for imports from 33 African countries, but Beijing said last year it would extend the policy to all 53 of its diplomatic partners on the continent.

China is Africa's largest trading partner and a key backer of major infrastructure projects in the region through its vast "Belt and Road" initiative.

From May 1, zero levies will apply to all African countries except Eswatini, which maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

China claims the democratic island as its own and does not rule out using force to take it.

Many African countries are increasingly looking to China and other trading partners since US President Donald Trump imposed steep tariffs worldwide last year.

Xi said the zero-tariff deal "will undoubtedly provide new opportunities for African development", announcing the date as leaders across the continent gathered in Ethiopia for the annual African Union summit.

The announcement came as Africa’s top regional body hosted its annual summit in Ethiopia this weekend to discuss the future of the continent of some 1.4 billion people.