Jurin upbeat on FTA with UAE in nine months, serving as gateway to Middle East
Caretaker Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit expressed confidence that the ongoing negotiations for a free trade agreement between Thailand and United Arab Emirates would culminate in a deal within nine months.
Once the FTA deal with the UAE is signed, Thailand can use the Arab nation as a gateway to export to five Middle East nations, thus boosting our export value to the Middle East, Jurin said.
Jurin was speaking to reporters after a teleconference with UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi at the Renaissance Phuket Hotel.
Jurin said the talks towards a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) would be hosted by the UAE from May 16 to 18 in Dubai.
The first round of talks will take place beween senior officials. Jurin has assigned the director of the Department of Foreign Trade Negotiations to participate in the talks.
Jurin said talks by senior officials should take about six months before the leaders of the two countries would ink the FTA within nine months. If successful, the Thailand-UAE FTA would be the quickest of Thailand’s FTAs.
Jurin said Thailand’s export value to the UAE last year were worth 119 billion baht. He expected the value to rise by at least 10% after the FTA deal is inked.
Once the FTA deal with the UAE takes effect, Thailand would have the advantage of using the UAE as a gateway to export to five other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which are Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait.
Jurin said Thailand’s canned sea foods, processed sea foods, textiles, garments, rubber products, auto parts, air-conditioners, electric appliances, and leatherwear would benefit from the FTA with the UAE.
The FTA with the UAE would be the first one with a Middle East nation and would be the 15th with 19 countries.
