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Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business
The UAE has participated in the opening of the Global Investors Summit, which kicked off recently in Indore City, the capital of Madhya Pradesh in central India. HE Abdullah Bin Ahmed Al Saleh, Undersecretary for Foreign Trade and Industry, Ministry of Economy, led the UAE delegation with the presence of Dr. Ahmed Abdul Rahman Al-Banna, UAE’s Ambassador to India. The event was also attended by government delegations from the state of Madhya Pradesh, including top-level officials and guests from institutions, government departments and representatives from the private sector.
The summit is being held with a series of seminars and panel discussions, looking for ways to promote joint investments in agriculture and food industries, technological innovation and clean energy cars, pharmaceuticals, textile, tourism and energy.
During his speech at the opening session, HE Al Saleh emphasized the strong bilateral ties between UAE and India, the latter being UAE’s first trade partner. He noted that the volume of trade between the two countries has amounted to USD $50 billion for the 2015-2016 period which is expected to reach record levels.
HE Al Saleh said that foreign trade with India accounts for about 9.8 percent of the UAE’s total non-oil foreign trade. India is the largest importer of goods from the UAE, with goods from the country being exported to the subcontinent nation hitting about 14.9 per cent of the UAE’s total exports and 8.7 per cent for re-exports, making India the second largest export market for the country.
The UAE is also the largest Arab investor in India, with total investments exceeding USD$10 billion, in addition to $4 billion worth of direct investments, which is equivalent of 85 percent of the total Arab investments in India.
HE Al Saleh also highlighted that the exceptional bilateral cooperation between UAE and India in aviation creates a strong push for trade and tourism exchange as the number of weekly flights between the two countries have exceeded the 1,000 weekly flights.
The UAE delegation includes HE Jamal Saif Al Jarwan, Secretary General of the UAE International Investors Council; Mana Mohammed Saeed Al Mulla, CEO of Khalifa Industrial Zone (Kizad); Sharif Habib al-Awadhi, Director-General of the Fujairah Free Zone Authority; Fatima Houdrom Al Ghafli, Member of Board of Directors of the RAK Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Ayda Khouri, Director of the International Economic Promotion in the DED in Abu Dhabi; Tony Whitby, Air Arabia’s Director of Network, Strategy and International Affairs; Mr. Mohamed Kamel Al Muaini, Founder of the International Relations & Cultural Diplomacy; Ahmad Sultan Al-Falahi, the Trade Attache for the UAE Embassy in India; Mohammed Nasser Hamdan Al Zaabi, Director of Trade Promotion and Investment Department at the Ministry.
Bilateral meetings
On the sidelines of the summit, HE Al Saleh held a bilateral meeting with Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, where both parties discussed several economic, trade and investment opportunities, particularly in the areas of smart cities, food industries, tourism, information technology and textile. He also met with Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in the presence of UAE’s Ambassador to India Dr. Al-Banna, and exchanged ways to promote industrial investments and benefit from the resources, capabilities and facilities available to both parties in this area.
Panel discussion
As a summit partner, the Global Investors Summit organized a panel discussion solely for the UAE to showcase opportunities in the country’s trade and investment for Indian investors and other participating countries.
During the session, H.E. Al Saleh noted the milestones in the growth of the UAE economy under the vision of building a diverse, sustainable and competitive economy based on knowledge and innovation.
He highlighted the strong ties between the UAE and India at various levels and are visible in both countries’ economic and trade relations, considering that India is the largest trading partner for the UAE.
The UAE is also the third largest trading partner for India with foreign trade between the two countries take up about 7.75% of the total foreign trade of India.
UAE Ambassador Al-Banna commented that the UAE-India relations indicate promising prospects for growth that would further strengthen bilateral ties at all levels. He expressed his appreciation for the selection of the UAE as a partner among the top global investors.
During the meeting, a few of the UAE delegation members also showcased various investment cooperation opportunities between the UAE and India in key sectors.