How Will India and the UAE Strengthen Economic Ties After Bilateral Trade Surpasses $100 Billion?
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- India and UAE bilateral trade has surpassed $100 billion.
- Both countries aim to increase non-oil trade to $100 billion by 2030.
- Focus on trade facilitation and regulatory collaboration.
- Recent meetings highlight commitment to mutual economic growth.
- Investments from UAE into India are projected to rise significantly.
New Delhi, Nov 27 (NationPress) India and the UAE have come to an agreement to enhance trade facilitation, regulatory collaboration, and data sharing during the third session of the Joint Committee established under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), according to an official announcement made on Thursday.
The meeting, which was co-chaired by Ajay Bhadoo, Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce, and UAE’s Assistant Undersecretary for International Trade Affairs, Juma Al Kait, acknowledged the significant growth in bilateral trade, which surpassed $100.06 billion in FY 2024-25, marking a remarkable increase of 19.6% and reaffirming the UAE’s status as one of India’s major trading partners.
Additionally, the UAE delegation held discussions with Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal to address issues concerning optimal CEPA utilization by both nations.
A thorough review of progress under CEPA was conducted, along with in-depth discussions on market access challenges, data sharing protocols, Gold TRQ allocation, anti-dumping issues, services, Rules of Origin, and BIS licensing.
India also updated the UAE on its recent decision to allocate Gold TRQ using a transparent competitive bidding framework.
As per a statement from the Commerce Ministry, the two sides evaluated recent high-level interactions, which included meetings between Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and UAE's Minister of Foreign Trade, Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, held in Mumbai and Dubai.
They reiterated their mutual commitment to boosting non-oil and non-precious metal trade to reach a target of $100 billion by 2030.
“Discussions also encompassed regulatory cooperation in pharmaceuticals, the resolution of issues associated with Certificates of Origin, BIS coordination, and the expeditious signing of the MoU on Food Safety and Technical Requirements between the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) of India and the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MoCCAE) of the UAE,” the announcement elaborated.
Earlier in September, Goyal indicated that investments from the financially robust UAE into India are expected to rise significantly, both as FDI in business initiatives and FII in capital markets.