India-UAE Trade to Touch $100 Billion

Hyderabad: India and UAE share historic political, economic and cultural ties that have evolved and expanded considerably over the years. India remains UAE’s second-largest trading partner with bilateral non-oil trade amounting to $18.2 billion in the first half of 2019, marking a 20 per cent year-over-year increase. Bilateral trade between the two countries is expected to cross $100 billion by 2020 from over $57 billion at present.

Recent Dubai Chamber analysis suggests that there are several areas where India can potentially boost its exports to the UAE, including pharmaceuticals, electrical machinery, vehicles, apparel and clothing accessories. On the other hand, printed books, natural pearls, cereals, carpets and textiles are identified as high-potential products that can be exported from the UAE to India in the future.

Majid Saif Al Ghurair, chairman, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told Telangana Today in an exclusive interview, “The UAE and Indian governments have played a crucial role in strengthening ties between the two countries and expanding economic cooperation in new sectors and fields. There has been a lot of progress with regards to increased UAE-India cooperation in key areas such as defence, security, investment in infrastructure, energy and other areas, following the signing of the countries’ Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement in 2017 and we hope to see more agreements like this formed in the future.”
Multi-sector ties

India has positioned itself at the forefront of the Fourth Industrial Revolution – and the country is among the earliest adopters of advanced technologies and innovative concepts such as fintech, artificial intelligence, blockchain, Internet of Things and smart city solutions. India shares many similarities with the UAE and there is huge potential for the UAE and India to expand their cooperation in these areas, build new industries and drive economic growth.

“We have seen renewed interest from both sides to cooperate on food security. Earlier this year, India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry announced the India-UAE Food Corridor project which will see UAE entities invest up to $7 billion in India’s food sector over the next three years, improve the UAE’s food security and create 2,00,000 jobs across India. Yet, there are still plenty of bilateral business opportunities, which have not been fully explored. Identifying such opportunities is a key focus of Dubai Chamber’s representative office in Mumbai,” he added.
Indian expats

The UAE is home to the largest Indian expat community in the world and the Indian businesses community has played a crucial role in supporting Dubai’s economic development over the years.

“We now see second and third generation family businesses flourishing here and making their mark on key industries such as retail, real estate, trade, education, ICT, healthcare, among many others. In 2018, Indian investors accounted for 31 FDI projects launched in Dubai valued at over $1 billion, making India the second largest investor in the emirate during the year. A total of 2,208 Indian companies joined Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry as new members in the first six months of 2019, marking an 18 per cent increase compared to the same period last year. Indian firms accounted for 24.4 per cent of new member companies that registered with Dubai Chamber between January and June 2019, bringing the total number of Indian members to 38,704,” he informed.
Opportunity for startups

Dubai is a land of opportunity for startups from around the world that have benefited from the wealth of competitive advantages that it offers, including more than 30 attractive free zones.

To add to that, the emirate is ripe with business opportunities as the country pushes ahead with expansion plans ahead of Expo 2020. This mega event will provide an ideal platform for Indian companies to showcase their offerings and boost their global profile, with 25 million visitors expected to be in attendance.

“We have identified India as the top target market for Dubai Startup Hub members-as 30 per cent of the startups registered under the platform are Indian-owned. We have seen growing interest from Indian startups that are keen to enter the Dubai market and expand their presence in the GCC region with a surge in Indian startups applying to the UAE’s various programmes and competitions offered through Dubai Startup Hub,” he noted.

Source: TT

Image Courtesy: Gulf News