NEW DELHI – The UAE-India partnership is a driver for economic growth that creates trade and investment opportunities for over 3.8 billion people, said UAE’s Minister of Economy Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri.
“Our solid economic partnership contributes to the vitality of trade and investment flows in South Asia and through it towards regional and global markets,” he said during a session titled “Is Minilateralism the Future of Global Trade?” at the Annual Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Conference 2023 held in New Delhi.
Al Marri said, “The two countries are accelerating efforts, hand in hand, to develop our economies and adopt plans, strategies, and initiatives that support our visions for expansion and investment in the new economy sectors. Through this important economic event, we look forward to enhancing bilateral trade with India in the fields of technology, digital payments, innovation, green energy, healthcare, communication, logistics, transport, waste management, and space technology.”
- NUMBERS AT A GLANCE
- The UAE-India partnership impacts over 3.8 billion people through the creation of trade and investment opportunities.
- The UAE and India’s economies saw rapid growth in 2022, with the UAE economy growing by 7.6 percent and the Indian economy achieving a 7.7 percent growth rate in the first nine months of the fiscal year 2022-2023.
- The UAE is supporting the Indian government’s aim to increase the Indian economy’s GDP to US$5 trillion by 2025.
- The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) signed between the two countries in February 2022 has resulted in the abolition of customs tariffs on more than 80 percent of UAE and Indian goods, thereby boosting trade.
- The agreement also enhanced market access across 11 main sectors and over 100 sub-sectors, leading to job creation in numerous economic activities.
- Non-oil foreign trade between the UAE and India grew by 24.7 percent in Q1 2023 compared to the same period in 2022.
- The UAE’s non-oil exports to Indian markets increased by 33 percent, with trade reaching about AED180 billion (US$49 billion), a 10 percent increase from 2021.
- As of September 2021, the UAE has launched the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements Program, signing four partnerships so far with India, Israel, Indonesia, and Turkiye.
- As part of the ‘We the UAE 2031’ vision, the country plans to raise its GDP to AED3 trillion, increase non-oil exports to AED800 billion, and boost foreign trade to AED4 trillion.
- The UAE is slated to host the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference in Q1 2024 in Abu Dhabi, underlining its commitment to stimulating international trade and creating new opportunities for exporters, manufacturers, and investors.
“The two countries’ economies were among the fastest growing in the world in 2022, characterized by a fast pace of economic growth. The UAE economy grew by 7.6 percent last year, and according to the World Bank estimates, the Indian economy’s GDP achieved a yearly growth of 7.7 percent in the first nine months of the fiscal year 2022-2023. This indicates the number of economic opportunities that are available in our markets, encouraging the UAE and Indian private sectors to seize this opportunity to further the prospering economic partnership between the two countries,” he added.
Moreover, Al Marri emphasized that the UAE and India present a unique comprehensive economic partnership model to the world, building on the strength of the historical and strategic relations between our two countries. “This progress can also be attributed to the forward-looking vision of both leaderships and their continuous support to enhancing the prospects for economic and trade collaboration in various priority fields.”
He added that the UAE is keen to support the Indian government’s vision to raise the Indian economy’s GDP to US$5 trillion by the year 2025, as well as its future expansion plans in the multilateral trading system.
“The CEPA signed between the two countries in February 2022 achieved positive results. It played a vital role in enhancing trade exchanges, facilitating investment flows and creating more opportunities and capabilities for exporters and importers in both markets,” Al Marri pointed out.
“The agreement has enabled advantages like an open and non-discriminatory environment for cross-border trade with India, and the abolition of customs tariffs on more than 80 percent of UAE and Indian goods. It also enhanced the access of service providers to markets across 11 main sectors and more than 100 sub-sectors including digital trade and intellectual property rights, creating job opportunities in many sectors and economic activities,” he said.
The UAE economy grew by 7.6 percent last year, and according to the World Bank estimates, the Indian economy’s GDP achieved a yearly growth of 7.7 percent in the first nine months of the fiscal year 2022-2023. This indicates the number of economic opportunities that are available in our markets, encouraging the UAE and Indian private sectors to seize this opportunity to further the prospering economic partnership between the two countries.
UAE’s Minister of Economy Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri
Al Marri highlighted that the non-oil foreign trade between the two countries grew by 24.7 percent in Q1 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. Apart from that, the UAE’s non-oil exports to Indian markets grew by 33 percent, while trade amounted to about AED180 billion (US$49 billion), up 10 percent from 2021.
“The UAE has an ambitious vision to enhance economic openness to the world and to build global trade partnerships with strategic markets. We support the multilateral trading system as a basic driver to achieve sustainable economic development. In September 2021, the UAE launched the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements Program, through which, four partnerships have been signed so far, with India, Israel, Indonesia, and Turkiye. We will sign more partnerships with other markets during the next stage in a way that supports the objectives of the ‘We the UAE 2031’ vision, which aims to raise our GDP to AED3 trillion, increase non-oil exports to AED800 billion, and foreign trade to AED4 trillion,” he explained.
Moreover, the UAE’s Minister of Economy noted that the UAE’s upcoming hosting of the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference in the first quarter of 2024 in Abu Dhabi will enhance the country’s contributions to stimulating international trade, which is key to achieving long-term sustainable growth. “It also affirms the country’s belief in pluralism and its commitment to creating new opportunities for exporters, manufacturers, and investors.”
The session was attended by CII President Sanjeev Bajaj, CII Director-General Chandragit Banerjee, and a number of UAE and Indian companies, global investors and businessmen.