A senior UAE delegation will visit India on Wednesday to explore prospects of joint investment and cooperation under the UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
Abdullah bin Touk Al Marri, Minister of Economy, will lead the delegation with Dr Ahmad Belhul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Business and SMEs; Dr Ahmed Al Banna, UAE Ambassador to India; Juma Mohammed Al Qait, Assistant Deputy Minister for External Trade, Ministry of Economy; Faisal Al Hammadi, Acting Assistant Undersecretary for Entrepreneurship and SMEs; Abdullah Mohamed Almazrui, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Osama Amir Fadhel, Assistant Undersecretary for Industrial Accelerator Sector, Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology; and over 80 representatives from the public and private sectors.
The visit aims to establish sustainable mechanisms that will enable the business community in both countries to maximise the benefits of the CEPA, signed by the two countries in February 2022 and which came into force earlier this month.
During the visit, the UAE delegation will also be briefed on the facilities and services that the historic CEPA will provide to companies and businesses in both countries, as well as opportunities to create new sustainable partnerships that will take UAE-India relations to an unprecedented level in various areas of the economy. Work.
The agenda will focus on priority sectors of cooperation that remain the key dynamic drivers for the relationship: industrial manufacturing, civil aviation, financial services, ICT, food security, transport and infrastructure, logistics services, agro-technology, entrepreneurship and other future economic drivers.
While in India, the delegation will hold a series of discussions with Indian ministers, senior government officials and private sector leaders on the best ways to facilitate and double non-oil trade exchange under CEPA.
The delegation will hold extended meetings with leading Indian businessmen, entrepreneurs and start-ups in New Delhi. In Mumbai, public and private representatives from the Emirates and India will gather for the UAE-India Economic Partnership Summit.
The UAE delegation comprises representatives from 41 government and private organisations, most notably: the Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce. Department of Trade and Industry, Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, DMCC, Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) and Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ), Fujairah Economic Development Department, UAE Council of International Investors, Abu Dhabi Ports Group, Masdar, DP World, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, flydubai, Lulu Group International, Sharaf Group, Kanoo Group, Silal Company and others.
India is the UAE’s second largest trading partner in 2021. It accounted for 9% of the UAE’s total trade with the world and 13% of the UAE’s non-oil exports, while non-oil foreign trade between the two countries reached AED 165 billion in 2021, 66% more than in 2020.