India-UAE Bilateral Trade to Exceed $100 Billion by 2020

India’s relationship with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has entered a vibrant growth phase with bilateral trade expected to exceed $100 billion by 2020, key speakers at the 2018 Dubai Global Convention said on April 17, Khaleej Times reported.

“India is an important demographic and economic powerhouse in Asia and investments between the two countries exceed billions. This convention will take the India-UAE relationship a step further as both countries explore ways to enhance business ties, intensify economic cooperation and increase innovation and entrepreneurship in sectors of mutual interest,” Abdulla Al Saleh, Undersecretary, Foreign Trade and Industry, Ministry of Economy, said in his inaugural address, as per the report.

Al Saleh added that India is the first trading partner for the UAE. “In 2017, trade relations between the UAE and India reached $53 billion, of which $35 billion is non-oil trade. The UAE is the third largest foreign trade partner to India after China and United States,” he added.

He pointed out that UAE has invested more than $5 billion in India through foreign direct investment stock till the end of 2017. India was also the second largest direct investor in UAE at the end of 2016 with $6.6 billion, he explained, as per the report.

“In the beginning, foreign trade and oil and gas were the focal point of the India-UAE relationship. But today, this has diversified to include many new sectors following the recent high-level visits of UAE and Indian leaders,” Al Saleh said.

During the inaugural session, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Institute of Directors (IOD), India, and Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) to further strengthen the support between the two institutions.

In March 2018, Anwar Mohammad Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of UAE, met Sushma Swaraj, India’s External Affairs Minister, and other top officials in New Delhi. The two countries discussed strategic ties and ways to enhance cooperation and joint coordination on regional and global issues. UAE’s ambassador to India Ahmad Abdul Rahman Al Banna was also a part of the meeting.

The two countries also have a “shared interest” in combating terror and this brings the two nations closer, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Mohammed Gargash had said in March 2018 in New Delhi.