Mohammed bin Zayed visit set to take deals forward

Abu Dhabi - The UAE and India also agreed to set up a $75 billion fund to invest in Indian infrastructure, railways, ports, highways, airports and to build industrial corridors.

By Haseeb Haider

Published: Sun 7 Feb 2016, 11:00 PM

Last updated: Tue 9 Feb 2016, 4:56 PM

Trade and investment between the UAE and India have expanded exponentially after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the UAE in August last year, says Adeeb Ahmed, chief executive officer (CEO) of LuLu Exchange.
Speaking to Khaleej Times on the upcoming visit of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, to India between Tuesday and Friday, Ahmed said he is satisfied with follow-up meetings and progress made by both countries since the historic visit.
Both countries had agreed to work together to identify challenges to trade. The UAE and India want trade to grow by 60 per cent by 2020. Since August 2015, India's finance minister Arun Jaitley and minister of state for commerce and industry Nirmala Sitharaman visited Abu Dhabi to follow up on the decisions made at the leadership level.
The UAE and India also agreed to set up a $75 billion fund to invest in Indian infrastructure, railways, ports, highways, airports and to build industrial corridors.
Ahmed said Shaikh Mohammed's visit "will help strengthen bilateral ties and enhance the areas of cooperation between India and the UAE."
"The UAE is India's third largest trading partner, valued at around $60 billion, after China and the US. I am confident this visit will add to the investments agreed during prime minister Narendra Modi's visit to the UAE and many more deals will be signed between the two countries," the CEO said.
"We look forward to Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed having a fruitful visit and hope key decisions are taken on a number of issues that will benefit both countries," Ahmed said.
On progress made on issues raised during Modi's UAE visit last year, the CEO said the UAE-India high level joint task force on investments has conducted meetings since the visit. It has not only focused on boosting economic and trade relations, but also opportunities in space exploration, education and other mutually beneficial areas.
"Both sides had then agreed to a $75 billion infrastructure investment fund and aimed to bolster bilateral trade by 60 per cent by 2020. The UAE delegation's visit will further promote and champion this cause and focus on key priority areas where the two countries can help each other."
Ahmed said infrastructure was a major hurdle for doing business in India. "While there are ample infrastructure projects being undertaken in metropolitan cities, it should also be expanded to non-metropolitan cities on an urgent basis. Key areas of focus can be on railways, roads and airports. Once the transportation infrastructure is in place, trade and tourism will follow suit."
- haseeb@khaleejtimes.com