UAE-India Economic Forum to boost investments, bilateral trade
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will be the chief guest at the two-day UAE-India Economic Forum Meet to be held in Dubai on November 17-18Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will leave on Sunday on a two-day visit to UAE to take part in the UAE-India Economic Forum Meet to be held in Dubai on November 17-18. The visit, which comes days after the government announced relaxation in FDI procedure in 15 key sectors, is expected to attract more foreign investments from the region. “One of the main objectives of the Finance Minister’s visit is to meet and apprise the UAE-based investors about investment opportunities in various sectors in India including infrastructure, manufacturing, services and National Investment & Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) among others,” a statement from the Finance Ministry said on Friday. The government has taken various initiatives in the last one and half year to make India an attractive destination for overseas investors. “Now policy decisions have become faster and predictable. Other major initiatives include various tax rationalisation measures and opening-up of different sectors of the economy for FDI among others,” the statement said. On Monday, the Finance Minister will take part as the Chief Guest in UAE- India Economic Forum Meet in Dubai. Thereafter, he will meet his UAE counterpart Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum. He will also attend an event organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and interact with Indian community in Dubai later in the evening. On Tuesday, Jaitley is scheduled to leave for Abu Dhabi to meet Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan , Managing director of Abu Dhabi Investing Authority , (ADIA) and senior representatives of ADIA,ADIC,IPIC etc. Later, he will call on General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Price of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. More than 200 delegates including political and business leaders from UAE and India are expected to take part in the two-day event. The forum will discuss business potential in various sectors including energy, infrastructure, financial services, tourism and technology. At present, the bilateral trade between India and UAE is valued at around $60 billion. During the last financial year, the UAE was India's third-largest trading partner after China and the US. India exports mainly gems and jewelry, vegetables, fruit, spices, engineering goods, tea, meat, rice and textiles to the UAE. Major Indian imports from UAE include crude and petroleum products, gold, pearls, precious and semiprecious stones, metal ores and scrap, electronics goods and transport equipment.
November 13, 2015 | 3:20pm IST.
to success.