Dubai, UAE – Celebrating the special economic relations between India and the UAE, Dubai Chamber on Tuesday hosted the India-UAE Partnership Summit at its headquarters in Dubai.
India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal inaugurated the summit with an opening keynote where he 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 jewelry.
“India and the UAE are both pursuing dynamic trade and investment policies. India hopes to see its exports touch US$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,” Goyal said.
“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,” he added.
He also highlighted the various prospects of cooperation which include the rupee-dirham trade, the virtual trade corridor, the food corridor and leveraging UAE and India’s startup ecosystems. Sectors such as textiles, green energy (wind, solar and hydro), connectivity infrastructure (airports, ports and roads) as well as waste management, were also among the areas of opportunity for both countries.
During his keynote address, Mohammad Ali Rashid Lootah, President and CEO of Dubai Chambers, revealed that the number of new Indian companies that joined Dubai Chamber of Commerce in 2022 exceeded 11,000, bringing the total number of Indian companies registered with the Chamber to more than 83,000.
Lootah pointed out that the international office of Dubai International Chamber, one of the three chambers operating under the Dubai Chambers, in Mumbai plays an important role in developing mutual relations and attracting more Indian start-ups and SMEs to the emirate.
He confirmed that this year will see expansion in the Chamber’s Mumbai office activities to keep pace with the growing momentum in bilateral relations.
“Our international offices, including our office in India, work in line with the Dubai Global initiative announced by H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, to cement the emirate’s position as a business and investment hub that attracts international investment and supports the expansion of local businesses to overseas markets,” Lootah said.
Organised by the International Business Linkage Forum (IBLF) in partnership with Dubai International Chamber – one of the three chambers operating under Dubai Chambers – the summit highlights the two nations’ bilateral relations with a focus on opportunities in manufacturing and start-ups, agritech and food processing, the future of health, and fintech and investment.
Dubai International Chamber seeks to attract multinational companies based in India and expand Dubai’s trade ties with the India market.