UAE to invest $75 billion in India, enhance bilateral trade
Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) with Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE, HH Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (R), at Za’abeel Palace, Dubai, on Monday.The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will increase its investment in India to $75 billion and the two countries have agreed to enhance the bilateral trade by 60% in the next five years. At present, the India-UAE trade is estimated to be around $60 billion and the gulf country’s investment in India is around $8 billion. Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Zayed AI Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on Monday. “The two leaders agreed to further promote trade between the two countries, and use their respective locations and infrastructure for expanding trade in the region and beyond; and, with the target of increasing trade by 60% in the next five years,” said a joint statement released by the two governments. To encourage investment in infrastructure development, the two nations will set up a UAE-India Infrastructure Investment Fund “with the aim of reaching a target of $75 billion to support investment in India's plans for rapid expansion of next generation infrastructure, especially in railways, ports, roads, airports and industrial corridors and parks.” Facilitating participation of Indian companies in infrastructure development in UAE is also part of the agreement. Besides, the two countries have agreed to promote strategic partnership in the energy sector, including through UAE's participation in India in the development of strategic petroleum reserves, upstream and downstream petroleum sectors, and collaboration in third countries. According to the joint statement, the cooperation will pave the way for the gulf country to gain from India's expertise in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to create a vibrant industrial base in UAE. Also, the partnership between UAE's educational institutions and Indian universities and research institutions is expected to “promote scientific collaboration, including in the areas of renewable energy, sustainable development, arid agriculture, desert ecology, urban development and advanced healthcare”, the statement said. Of the total $8 billion UAE’s investment in India, $3 billion has come through foreign direct investment (FDI), mainly in construction, power, services and IT sectors. India’s export to the gulf country was $33 billion during the last financial year, while UAE was the sixth largest supplier of crude oil to India.
August 18, 2015 | 2:25pm IST.
to success.