Indian companies and NRI-owned entities have generated around one million jobs in the UAE. This was revealed at a summit showcasing the historical ties between the two friendly countries.
Economic relations between the UAE and India were discussed at the India-UAE Partnership Summit hosted by Dubai Chambers.
83,000 companies
In his keynote speech, Mohammad Ali Rashid Lootah, the President and CEO of Dubai Chambers, announced that over 11,000 new Indian businesses had joined the Dubai Chamber of Commerce in 2022, bringing the total number of Indian companies registered with the Chamber to over 83,000.
Lootah highlighted that the Mumbai office of the Dubai International Chamber, one of the three chambers under the Dubai Chambers, plays a significant role in strengthening ties and attracting more Indian startups and SMEs to the emirate.
UAE-India trade to reach $100b
Piyush Goyal, India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, inaugurated the summit and highlighted that the UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) has given a natural boost to key sectors such as food and agriculture products, as well as gems and jewellery.
The CEPA Agreement, signed in 2022, is expected to increase trade exchange by 120%, from $45 billion to $100 billion and services trade to $15 billion in the next five years.
Goyal said, “India and the UAE are pursuing dynamic trade and investment policies. India hopes to see its exports touch $1 trillion in the near to medium term. Our growing bilateral trade will play an integral role in the UAE’s efforts to double the size of its economy by 2030. The destinies of the UAE and India have been inextricably intertwined for centuries.”
“A closer collaboration, trust and the spirit of entrepreneurship will create limitless opportunities for our economies, our industries, our cities, and our people, now and for generations to come. This is the vision that CEPA aims to turn into reality.”
Goyal emphasized potential collaboration areas such as using the rupee and dirham in trade, establishing a virtual trade route, creating a food trade route, and utilizing the start-up ecosystems in both the UAE and India.
The summit, which is organized by the International Business Linkage Forum (IBLF) in collaboration with the Dubai International Chamber, focuses on showcasing the bilateral relations between the two nations, with an emphasis on opportunities in manufacturing and startups, agritech and food processing, the future of health, and fintech and investment.
As UAE and India are expected to see strong growth in 2023, the summit aims to explore opportunities in new sectors, shifting away from traditional trading patterns to new fields.
tanvir@dubainewsweek.com
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