- On October 29, 2024, during an official visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Vietnam and UAE officially upgraded their relationship to Comprehensive Partnership – making the UAE Vietnam’s first Comprehensive Partner in the Middle East. Notably, Vietnam also signed the Vietnam-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) - the first Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and a Middle Eastern country.

- The upgrade in ties and CEPA are expected to promote cooperation between Vietnam and the UAE in many aspects, including political cooperation, diplomacy, security, defense, legal and justice policies, as well as in the fields of economics, trade, agriculture, investment, the Halal industry, culture, tourism, energy, science, technology, and innovation cooperation. 

- The UAE is committed to eliminating tariffs on 99% of Vietnam's exports to its market. CEPA is an FTA that is comprised of 18 chapters, 15 annexes, and 2 bilateral letters with content including trade in goods & services, investment, rules of origin, Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures, customs, trade defense, Government procurement, intellectual property, and legal – institutional frameworks. Notably, the UAE committed to eliminating tariffs on 99% of Vietnam's exports to its market, while Vietnam has also committed to eliminating tariffs on 98.5% of the UAE’s exports to its market. The agreement also includes many regulations to facilitate trade and investment, consistent with current trends in digital transformation and green development.

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