UAE and Malaysia Forge Deeper Economic Ties Under New Economic Partnership Agreement

The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry discussed prospects for strengthening economic cooperation with Malaysia, with the aim of enabling companies in the emirate to benefit from investment opportunities available in the Malaysian market.

According to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), a partner of TV BRICS, the two sides focused on enhancing the partnership between the business communities of both countries within the framework of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the UAE and Malaysia.

The Chairman of Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Abdallah Sultan Al Owais, pointed to the development of economic relations between the UAE and Malaysia, noting that non-oil foreign trade between the two countries increased by 30.9 per cent to reach US$3.3 billion in the first half of 2025.

He also praised the role of the Sharjah Chamber in strengthening bilateral cooperation and encouraging Malaysian companies to participate in exhibitions held at Expo Centre Sharjah.

For its part, the Malaysian delegation highlighted the size of non-oil trade, which reached US$5.5 billion in 2024, reflecting the depth of economic relations between the UAE and Malaysia.

In this context, Candidate of Economic Sciences and Associate Professor of the Department of Strategic and Innovative Development of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Mikhail Khachaturyan, commented in an exclusive interview with TV BRICS that this step comes within the framework of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), signed between the two countries in 2025, which has become the cornerstone upon which trade, economic and investment relations between the two countries are built.

"We note that the volume of trade between the two countries is constantly increasing and has not fallen below US$8–10 billion in the past two years, with non-oil trade between them accounting for 50 per cent of the total, or about US$4–5 billion. The UAE is Malaysia’s second-largest trading partner in the Middle East, representing 32 per cent of Malaysia’s total trade with the region. However, Malaysia ranks twelfth among the UAE’s largest trading partners in Asia" Khachaturyan said.

The expert also pointed out that the most important areas of economic cooperation between the two countries include the development of advanced technology and artificial intelligence, as well as oil and gas projects, machinery manufacturing, light industries, tourism, and agriculture.