Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan have expressed optimism that India-UAE bilateral trade could touch $100 billion, up from the current $85 billion, well ahead of the target year 2030, per a joint statement issued following the bilateral meeting on Tuesday.
The leaders also discussed the Israel-Palestine situation and the Red Sea crisis, as there are “important stakes” involved, but economic cooperation between the two, including the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) project and initiatives as part of the I2U2 group, was expected to maintain its momentum and stay its course, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said at a media briefing on Wednesday.
“The leaders expressed optimism regarding elevating bilateral trade to $100 billion well ahead of the target year 2030. The two leaders also acknowledged the formal unveiling of the UAE-India CEPA Council (UICC), which stands as an important development in the bilateral trade partnership,” the joint statement said. The India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) entered into force on May 1, 2022.
Pacts signed
Eight pacts were signed on Tuesday in the presence of Modi and Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi, which included an intergovernmental framework agreement on the ambitious IMEC to promote co-operation on the logistics platform, building on previous understandings.
“The signing of the agreement between India and the UAE (on IMEC) is clear testimony and evidence that while the ongoing disturbance in the region with regard to conflict in Gaza and situation in the Red Sea is indeed an area of concern and both countries and the leaders continue to monitor, supervise, and exchange notes on them, it is equally important to ensure that economic cooperation continues to stay its course and maintain its momentum,” Kwatra said.
The other pacts include a bilateral investment treaty to further promote investments in both countries, an MoU opening new areas of collaboration in the field of energy security and energy trade, including green hydrogen, and agreements on interlinking instant payment platforms – UPI (India) and AANI (UAE) – to facilitate seamless cross-border transactions and on interlinking domestic debit and credit cards, RuPay (India) with JAYWAN (UAE).
The UAE is India’s third-largest trading partner and among the top four investors in India in terms of foreign direct investments in 2022-23. About 3.5 million strong Indian community forms the largest expatriate group in the UAE.