NEW YORK, 24th September, 2026 (WAM) -- The United Arab Emirates and the Argentine Republic issued a joint statement regarding trade and investment and the launch of negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The announcement followed a meeting today in New York between Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Foreign Trade, and Pablo Quirno, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship of Argentina. Both Ministers highlighted the excellent state of bilateral relations between Argentina and the United Arab Emirates and reaffirmed their commitment to further deepening trade and investment ties in areas of common interest, with a view to supporting greater economic cooperation between the two countries.
In this regard, they underscored the Bilateral Investment Treaty and the Double Taxation Agreement currently in force between the two countries as key building blocks of this cooperation, providing a stable, predictable, and robust framework conducive to greater trade and investment flows.
As a further step in this direction, they announced the launch of trade negotiations toward a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Argentina and the UAE, with a view to fast-tracking the negotiations and concluding an ambitious agreement that expands market opportunities for goods and services of mutual interest.
This initiative will foster greater synergies between trade and investment in both economies, with the aim of attracting high-quality investments in key sectors of mutual interest, including mining and minerals, artificial intelligence (AI) and data centers, pharmaceuticals, energy, agribusiness, aerospace, tourism, infrastructure, real estate, and urban development.
In this context, both sides highlighted the strategic partnership between YPF and XRG as an example of the high-impact investments that the two countries seek to promote. The partnership forms part of the broader Argentina LNG project, which is expected to entail total investments of approximately US$51 billion over the course of its development. The initiative establishes a roadmap for the development of an LNG project with an initial production capacity of 12 million tonnes per year, with potential for future expansion.
Both sides expressed their appreciation for the opportunity to hold this meeting and reaffirmed their commitment to continuing to work together to further strengthen bilateral trade and investment relations in the near term.