UAE Minister of Foreign Trade Sheikha Lubna Bint Khalid Al Qasimi recently discussed the status of bilateral ties between the UAE and India and ways to enhance their trade and investment cooperation with Heavy Industries Minister in Hyderabad Kana Narayana. The meeting was held on the sidelines of a promotional tour of UAE trade and investment opportunities in India.
Both sides commended the exceptional level of trade and investments between their countries but agreed to take their partnership even further. The value of non-oil trade between the UAE and India alone reached more than USD 32 billion in 2008.
Sheikha Lubna explained that the UAE market offers a wide range of trade and investment opportunities that promote a stronger strategic partnership between the two countries. She noted that the UAE’s robust economy and competitiveness enable investors from Hyderabad and India as a whole to boost their investments in various economic sectors across the Emirates.
The UAE Minister pointed out that more than 105 Indian companies have invested and are registered in the UAE, in addition to hundreds of companies operating in free zones. These, she said, reflect the high potential and diverse opportunities for supporting advanced frameworks of trade and investment cooperation between the UAE and India.
She also referred to the successful strategy of economic diversification
adopted by the UAE, which has helped increase the contribution of non-oil sectors to the national GDP by 66 per cent last year as shown by preliminary estimates. She added that diversification initiatives have spurred the emergence of new vital sectors such as renewable energy, tourism, and technology.
For his part, Kana Narayan commended the distinctive economic and trade ties between the UAE and India. He called for greater cooperation between the two nations and affirmed that the UAE’s unique investment opportunities have encouraged many companies in Hyderabad to explore the UAE markets. He revealed that there are around 2,000 Indian companies operating in the Ras Al Khaimah Free Zone alone.
The meeting was attended by Mohamed Sultan Abdalla Al Owais, the UAE Ambassador to India, and Abdullah Ahmed Al Saleh, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Trade.
