New Delhi (PTI): India's exports to the UAE are expected to reach $50 billion by 2026-27 from $31.3 billion at present on the back of the free trade agreement between the countries, a top government official said on Monday.

Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said that trade between India and the UAE has grown significantly after the implementation of the trade agreement on May 1 last year.

"We are hoping that we would be able to reach $50 billion exports by 2026-27," Barthwal told reporters here.

The India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) which was signed between the two nations on 18 February 2022, officially came into force on May 1 last year.

India's exports to the UAE in 2022-23 rose by 11.8 per cent to $31.3 billion, while imports grew by 18.8 per cent to $53.2 billion in the last fiscal.

P Aqeel Ahmed, former chairman of the Council for Leather Exports said that the trade agreement is the "most effective which we have seen in recent times".