Strong bilateral relations

TP Seetharam, Indian Ambassador to the UAE, has served as a diplomat for 36 years of which two years and eight months have been in Abu Dhabi. This is his last posting as he retires on August 31. He speaks to Suchitra Steven Samuel about India-UAE relations and how busy and productive his time was in the UAE. Excerpts from the interview:

What are the important developments in India-UAE relations in 2016?

Since August 15, 2015, very significant developments have taken place between India and the UAE. The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi visited the UAE between August 16 and 17 last year. It has been a year since that visit, a very eventful year for India-UAE relations. The PM's visit was a historic landmark event, which took place after 34 years, and the joint statement issued by the two sides highlights the importance of that visit.

TP Seetharam, Indian Ambassador to the UAEThe PM was received warmly by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, as well as His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Indians in the UAE gave him a roaring welcome at the Cricket Stadium in Dubai. All these are very important markers and also evident in the joint statement, which outlines many areas of cooperation.
It talks about increasing bilateral trade by 60 per cent over the coming years, a possibility of about $75 million in terms of investments from the UAE to India, and various new areas of engagement in the space sector, defence production, small-scale industries and other areas in science and technology.

Give us details on recent high-level visits between the two countries? What were the outcomes?

After the PM's visit, there have been many high-level exchanges. The most important was a visit to India by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed in February. We have had visits of India's Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman to the UAE; the Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha; the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan; and the first-ever visit of the Minister of Defence Manohar Parrikar.
In February, when His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed visited India, he visited New Delhi and Mumbai. There also there was a joint statement that carried forward various important understandings reached during the Prime Minister's visit. It signifies that there were very high level contacts during this one year followed up by ministerial visits, official interactions, signing of agreements, and is being intensively pursued for notable results.

Where does trade between India and the UAE currently stand?

The trade between the two countries is very good. For the UAE, India is its largest trade partner. We cannot ask for more in our relationship with another country. To become a country's largest trade partner is the best one can achieve. For India, the UAE is the third largest trading partner after the US and China, which is again very significant considering the relatively smaller size of the UAE and its population. The fact that after the US and China, which are very large countries with large populations, and long history of engagement between the two sides, the fact that the UAE is our third largest partner is a matter of pride.
Of course, there is always room for improvement. There is more we can do to diversify and increase trade, which we realise are goods coming through the UAE to other countries. There are re-exports involved, which is a healthy trend too. It shows what a strategically and commercially important space the UAE occupies in global trade.

What sectors of the economy are attracting high foreign investment in India?

In India, it is the infrastructure sector. That is where there have been challenges, whether it is highways, airports, ports, electricity, power generation, power distribution, or renewable energy areas. A whole lot of investment is required and being directed to the infrastructure sector. Also, under the very dynamic 'Make in India' initiative, investments are going into manufacturing in a whole number of areas from heavy industry, small and medium enterprises to high technology areas and defence. A large number of steps have been taken to facilitate such investments to open up more areas of investment. The investment is both from within India and Indians living abroad. There are many successful businesspeople from India in the UAE, who have invested in the country and continue to do so alongside foreign investment.

Could you give us details on the India Fellows Programme 2016?

This is a programme that has been put together by the Overseas Indian Affairs Division of the Ministry of External Affairs in collaboration with the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad. This is meant to give young entrepreneurs of Indian origin living abroad an opportunity to interact with top people in various sectors in India, give them a chance to network with key persons, both in the industry and government and make connections that would benefit them as well as India. It is a short-term programme in its first year. Details are available on the Embassy's website and we hope that more people will make use of it in order to reconnect with India and find opportunities to engage with India at different levels.

How successful were the International Yoga Day celebrations?

The decision to celebrate International Yoga Day on June 21 every year was taken by the United Nations (UN). The first such event was held in 2015, which was held very successfully in the UAE, both in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. We managed to improve it this year in terms of number of participants and participation of our Emirati friends. We are extremely grateful that both Shaikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, the UAE Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, as well as Shaikha Lubna Al Qasimi, the UAE Minister of State for Tolerance attended the event. Shaikha Lubna also spoke at the event and made very significant points in her speech. She spoke about the commitment of the UAE for participating in such international events, which has been recognised by the UN. I think that the participation of these two ministers added to the significance of the International Yoga Day celebrations in the UAE. We expect that participation by both Emiratis and expatriates from around the world living in the UAE will increase in the years to come.

Are there any other Indian concepts that you would want to popularise in the UAE?

There has been a lot of interest in Indian culture. Historically, there has been a lot of interaction between this part of the world and India, which has intensified over a period of time. We have a large number of Indians living here, which also helps generate interest about things that are Indian, whether it is cuisine, performing arts or Indian art itself - be it painting or sculpture. We are taking various steps to popularise and bring about greater awareness in many of these aspects.
For example, there was an attempt recently to promote the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, which is a very important international art event that takes place in Kochi every two years. This year it will start on December 12 and go on for 108 days with the participation of top artists from a large number of countries. So we organised an event here, where the principal mover behind this exhibition had come to the UAE and made a presentation at the Embassy. It was attended by a large number of people including Emirati friends. We were also fortunate to have the Consul General Designate of the UAE to Trivandrum, who participated in the event.
We are also planning to have a significant Indian participation at the Sheikh Zayed Cultural Festival, which will be held in Abu Dhabi for six weeks starting November this year. We have requested the Ministry of Culture in India, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and various other agencies in India to ensure significant participation.
These are all ongoing efforts to connect the two countries to diversify our engagement, and in the process, ensure that the interaction between the people, at the people-to-people level takes place in a more intensified manner. Such interactions will help increase understanding between people and lead to cooperation in wider areas.
One of the things we are working on with the UAE authorities is a project to record oral history. This involves sitting with the older generation on both sides and recording their history of contacts and memories of travels to each other's countries, their own travels, and travels of their parents. India used to be the place where most people from the UAE would go to for their shopping needs, medical requirements and tourism needs. People have very fond memories of those travels and we want to capture that and record them.

What are the major grievances faced by Indians in the UAE?

The community here is very large with a population of about 2.8 million Indians living and working in the UAE. There are a large number of issues that come up and need to be addressed. Some of these start with recruitment within India itself, and the difficulties they face with recruiting companies. We are trying to address that through an e-migrate platform that registers all recruiting agents and foreign employers. This has been working quite well now. Other issues include substitution of contract, but this has been addressed by the UAE Ministry of Labour, now the Ministry of Human Resource Development and Emiratisation, by bringing in new systems in place to prevent it. Issues that affect the labour community are being addressed by both sides.
There are also issues related to debt that people face, as they take huge loans before coming here, then take more loans after arriving here. They also tend to use several credit cards without fully realising the total debt burden they are incurring due to very high interest rates on credit cards.
Some of these issues can be solved by changing their behaviour and raising awareness. We are trying to organise awareness events at labour camps on a regular basis. We also request the media - print, radio as well as audio-visual - for assistance.
To educate people, we have brought out a publication that acts as a guideline for Indians living in the UAE, and is being used by state governments during orientation programmes before they leave the country.
Numerous measures are being taken to address these grievances. Some have been addressed, others are being addressed, and there are some for which you cannot find an immediate solution.
One constant grievance is the high airfare during peak season that has been raised repeatedly with authorities and concerned airlines. However, these are issues that cannot be tackled easily as they are commercial practices.
To take note of the situation, we have created an online portal called e-Madad, where grievances can be conveyed. It is monitored not only at the Embassy here, but also by the Ministry of External Affairs and Minister Sushma Swaraj, who takes a lot of interest in the welfare of Indians living abroad, as demonstrated by her response and follow up on these matters, ensuring people are attended to as much as possible.

Tell us about the Service Export Promotion Council

A lot of recruitment takes place through private parties, leading to some issues. One of the things that the Ministry of External Affairs has tried to do is to find a government or public sector agency to handle sensitive recruitment, especially of nurses, as well as women who wish to go abroad to take up various jobs, but often face issues. Government agencies have been identified and these are being expanded.
Previously for nurses, only two agencies - one from Kerala and one from Tamil Nadu - were featured, but now have extended to other states to create similar facilities. The idea is to extend this to other services that are provided from India and find ways to engage in such activities in a manner that is beneficial to the countries involved without violating any laws or creating problems.

Is there a UAE Consulate being established in Kerala?

Yes, the strong relationship between the UAE and India is demonstrated by the UAE's decision to set-up a Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. There is already a UAE Embassy in New Delhi and a Consulate in Mumbai. Preparations are underway and we are awaiting formal announcements.

Anything else you would like to add.

We are in the process of opening the Pravasi Bhartiya Kendra, the Overseas Indian Centre in New Delhi. The facility is expected to be inaugurated on October 2 by our Prime Minister. It will be a facility for all non-resident Indians and overseas Indians, as a platform where meetings can be hosted, alongside a library and other resources related to the Indian Diaspora for research and further studies.
It will also have some other facilities and details will be available soon. We are requesting all those who have resources - whether they are books about successful Indians living abroad or books about problems that Indians face, written by Indians living abroad in whichever language - and all such material are welcome. If these books can be sent to the Indian embassy, we will be happy to send them across to the Pravasi Bhartiya Kendra.

- suchitra@khaleejtimes.com

Message to Indians living in the UAE   India's Independence Day is something that all Indians like to celebrate across the world. It is an important symbolic gesture by Indians to mark this day, to recollect the sacrifices made by not only the leaders, but also the people of the country in order to achieve and preserve this freedom.This is a day that Indian embassies all over the world mark by hoisting the national flag. Here in the UAE, we have a large number of people participating in this event in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and across various Indian associations that are active in looking after the welfare of the community. Also, the schools following Indian curriculum celebrate the occasion in an appropriate manner. - TP Seetharam, Indian Ambassador to the UAE

• India

Suchitra Steven Samuel

• suchitra@khaleejtimes.com