Awarding the “Future Readiness Mark” to the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements project

The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements Project (CEPA), affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Trade, received the Future Readiness Mark in the foreign trade sector, awarded by the Office of Government Development and the Future, to federal and local government agencies and national companies that implement exceptional projects that enhance the UAE’s readiness for the future, in recognition of the qualitative achievements and results it has achieved in enhancing foreign trade readiness for the future, through a proactive business model supported by advanced technology and artificial intelligence solutions, that enhances the UAE’s global competitiveness, and supports building a diversified, integrated and open economy, through partnerships. A comprehensive economy with strategic global markets, which contributes to consolidating the country’s position as a global center for trade and investment.
The event of awarding the Future Readiness Mark to the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Project was attended by the Minister of Foreign Trade, Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al-Zeyoudi, the Minister of State for Government Development and the Future, Ohoud bint Khalfan Al-Roumi, and the project team at the Ministry of Foreign Trade.
The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements project contributed to achieving a tangible impact on the national economy, and through it the Ministry of Foreign Trade was able to achieve the target of 2033, by increasing the contribution of the partnership agreements to achieving cumulative growth in the real gross domestic product by up to 13%, equivalent to 245 billion dirhams, in addition to the project’s expected contribution to increasing the value of the country’s foreign trade by more than 735 billion dirhams during the period from 2024 to 2033, including the growth of exports to 390 billion dirhams. dirhams, and imports to 343 billion dirhams.
The project also contributed to raising the UAE’s exports to the countries with which it has entered into comprehensive economic partnership agreements to 175.5 billion dirhams in 2025, recording an annual growth of 18.2%, representing 21.6% of the UAE’s total non-oil exports, while the value of non-oil foreign trade reached 3.8 trillion dirhams in 2025.
These results are being translated globally, with the UAE advancing from 17th place globally to 9th place in goods exports within five years, and the total trade in goods and services reaching $1.637 trillion in 2025.
The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements Project is one of the strategic national projects that supports the goals of the “We are the Emirates 2031” vision and the national agenda for foreign trade. It has contributed to expanding the network of trade partnerships in the UAE, to 37 comprehensive economic partnership agreements and regional and trade agreements, in April 2026.
The project employs technology and artificial intelligence to develop comprehensive and integrated economic agreements that achieve readiness for global economic changes, whether they are geopolitical shifts, protectionist policies, the move towards regionalism, supply chain disruptions, the acceleration of technology adoption, and the requirements of the business community, and contribute to achieving flexibility, adaptation, sustainability, and accelerating the momentum of trade growth by opening new markets for Emirati exports in strategic sectors that include food industries, pharmaceutical, metals, petrochemicals, logistics, financial services, technology, renewable energy, tourism, and digital economy.
Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al-Zeyoudi said, “The comprehensive economic partnership agreements project receiving the future-readiness mark comes in appreciation of the strategic vision adopted by the UAE in building an economy that is more competitive, open, and prepared for the changes of the future.”
He stressed that granting the project the future-readiness mark represents confirmation of the success of our approach in transforming foreign trade into a major engine for sustainable growth and economic diversification over the coming decades.
For her part, Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi stressed that the draft comprehensive economic partnership agreements represent an advanced model that embodies the leadership’s visions in shaping the future paths of global foreign trade, consolidates the UAE’s leadership as a global hub for international trade, and enhances its readiness for new opportunities, through its role in expanding the circle of trade and economic partnerships with countries around the world.
She pointed out that the project’s focus on strengthening the UAE’s leadership and readiness to develop new global trade opportunities and the new digital trade industry and developing smart and agile commercial governance, based on artificial intelligence, data and innovation, represents a major support for the country’s visions and a pillar for enhancing the readiness of commercial sectors, in addition to the project’s role in creating a tangible positive impact on the future of the economy and trade.
The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements project represents a pivotal element in supporting national readiness for future changes by employing technology solutions, artificial intelligence, and data analysis, to enhance the flexibility of supply chains, expand the circle of trade partners, and stimulate future sectors based on knowledge, technology, and digital services, in addition to supporting sustainable growth, and developing new opportunities for investment and qualitative employment. The project also contributes to enhancing the readiness of the commercial and economic sectors for future transformations by developing advanced frameworks for digital trade, investment and international cooperation, supporting integration with the global economy, stimulating innovation and sustainability, and enhancing the international competitiveness of national companies.
The project’s success is based on a real-time forecasting mechanism supported by strategic visions that contribute to enabling faster and more effective decision-making, in addition to monitoring the performance of foreign trade, identifying emerging global trends, and monitoring trade policies, customs tariffs, global regulations and standards. The project benefits from artificial intelligence solutions in preparing analyzes and evaluations and forming proactive visions about the impact of comprehensive economic partnership agreements, sector performance, and future partnership opportunities, in addition to forecasting market growth and demand. On products and services, future demand trends and business opportunities.
The project also contributes to developing strategic insights for trade, through intelligent analysis of trade data and employing artificial intelligence to help companies and policy makers respond more quickly to global trade changes.
The project works to develop proactive business models enabled by artificial intelligence, which allow detecting changes in global supply chains and developing solutions to their challenges before they turn into crises, enhancing the flexibility of supply chains, and supporting faster strategic decision-making. The project also employs artificial intelligence to prepare feasibility studies for partnership agreements, carry out proactive evaluations of potential partners, develop predictive models related to the impact of the agreements, and analyze the extent of their adoption by large, small and medium-sized companies and emerging exporters.
It is noteworthy that the “Future Readiness Mark” is given to federal and local government agencies and national and semi-governmental companies that implement qualitative projects that contribute to the development of new business models and create a tangible positive impact on society. The mark focuses on projects that are designed in priority future sectors such as the new economy, advanced technology, food and water security, sustainability, emerging sectors of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and quality of life.