Non-oil trade between the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam reached $7.02 billion in the first half of 2025, up 16.9 per cent from the same period last year, the UAE’s minister of foreign trade said on Friday.
The increase builds on $12.6 billion in bilateral trade recorded in 2024, a 4 per cent rise on the previous year and 54.3 per cent higher than in 2019. Vietnam remains the UAE’s largest non-oil trading partner in the ASEAN region.
UAE Minister of Foreign Trade Thani Al Zeyoudi told the Vietnam Business Council in Abu Dhabi that the two countries are preparing to expand cooperation once a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) signed in October 2024 comes into force.
“By reducing tariffs, removing barriers to trade and harmonising customs procedures, we have set a course for further growth and greater prosperity,” Al Zeyoudi said in a statement.
“We are already seeing the benefits of close collaboration.”
The minister said the UAE has already supported Vietnamese logistics projects, including Saigon’s Premier Container Terminal in Ho Chi Minh City and new cargo services across the Mekong Delta, and would look to build on such investments.
The UAE has also concluded CEPAs with Indonesia, Cambodia and Malaysia. Its non-oil trade with ASEAN states reached $37.7 billion in 2024, up 4.2 per cent from 2023 and 16.8 per cent higher than in 2022, accounting for 4.6 per cent of its global non-oil trade.
