India, UAE ink 9 pacts to boost trade and investment

India is looking to tap into UAE’s nearly $800-billion sovereign wealth fund which is currently under the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) The Dollar Business Bureau

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan during the exchange MoUs, at Hyderabad House, in New Delhi on Thursday

India and the United Arab Emirates, the Gulf’s economic powerhouse and New Delhi’s third largest trading partner, signed nine key agreements in areas ranging from renewable energy, cyber security and space cooperation to infrastructure investment and currency exchange. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral meetings with the visiting Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan in New Delhi and oversaw the agreement exchange. The visit of Crown Price of Abu Dhabi to New Delhi is expected to further India-UAE burgeoning relationship which has undergone a paradigm shift over the last two-three years. The signing of these agreements, especially in the area of infrastructure investments aims to establish a framework for facilitating UAE’s investors looking to participate in India’s infrastructure activities. India is also looking to tap into UAE’s nearly $800-billion sovereign wealth fund which is currently under the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA). Recently, the Indian government has stepped up attempts to attract more investments in some of its most ambitious infrastructure programmes, including smart India and housing for all, from the United Arab Emirates. Finance Minister ArunJaitely, during his last week meeting with theUAE Minister of Economy Sultan Al Mansoori, also invited the gulf nations, particularly the UAE to invest in India’s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF),which has been established with an initial capital of $6.5 billion (approximately Rs.40,000 crore) to fund infrastructure projects across the country. The other paramount agreements included an MoU between Dubai Economic Council (DEC) and Export-Import bank of India, through which both the partners envisage to exchange information on trade and business opportunities and facilitate procurement of Indian goods and services by Abu Dhabi government. The two-way trade, which was valued at $180 million in the 1970s, reached around $60 billion in 2014-15, making the gulf country India’s third largest trading partner after China and the US.

February 13, 2015 | 4:58pm IST.

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The Dollar Business Bureau - Feb 13, 2016 11:25 IST

India, UAE ink 9 pacts to boost trade and investment

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