Argentina and UAE Negotiate Agreement Leveraged by YPF-XRG’s US$51 Billion LNG Project – Trade News | 27/09/26

Argentina and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) began negotiations in New York for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) aimed at deepening trade and investment ties between the two countries. Against this backdrop, Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno and UAE Minister of Foreign Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi highlighted the strategic partnership between YPF and XRG as one of the main examples of the high-impact investments both countries seek to promote. The joint venture is one of the pillars of Argentina LNG, a major project that envisages total investments of approximately US$51 billion throughout its development and establishes an initial liquefied natural gas (LNG) production capacity of 12 million tonnes per year, with potential for future expansion. Investment flows into the gas project and other sectors are currently supported by two legal instruments between the countries: the Bilateral Investment Treaty and the Double Taxation Agreement, which are considered a stable and predictable framework for increasing trade and capital flows. Beyond hydrocarbons, the bilateral initiative seeks to attract investment in mining and critical minerals, artificial intelligence, data centers and pharmaceuticals, as well as sectors including agribusiness, aerospace, infrastructure, tourism and real estate. In this way, the CEPA negotiations seek to broaden economic ties between Argentina and the United Arab Emirates, with the planned investment in Argentina LNG serving as one of the main reference points for the relationship. Link to Article