The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is poised to invest an extra $25 billion in India, marking a significant enhancement in their economic partnership and strategic collaboration across essential sectors, including energy, shipping, and technology, according to Union Minister Piyush Goyal.
Goyal, who spoke following the 14th session of the India-UAE High Level Joint Task Force on Investments on Monday, highlighted that the UAE’s total investment target in India is set to reach $100 billion in the coming years.
Investment and cooperative efforts will focus on several key areas, such as ports, shipbuilding, space, logistics, Indian startups, the stock market, and energy security.
Both nations are also exploring enhanced cooperation in energy, which includes strategic petroleum reserves, as well as supplies of LPG and LNG, and subsea pipeline projects.
Trade between India and the UAE has successfully reached $100 billion, with ambitions to double this figure to $200 billion by 2032, a goal supported by leaders from both countries.
Moreover, the trend of utilizing local currencies for trade settlements, specifically the Rupee and Dirham, is rising, facilitating smoother transactions. Goyal noted that this practice is becoming increasingly recognized and beneficial for traders and travelers alike.
“We can conduct trade only in rupees and dirhams. When goods from India arrive in the UAE, we can bid in rupees. When goods from the UAE come to India, we can bid in dirhams,” Goyal explained.
On the topic of energy security, Goyal indicated that ongoing geopolitical uncertainties necessitate strong collaboration with the UAE, a trusted partner. This includes expanding strategic petroleum reserves in India, with significant investments expected in this sector.
Regarding port development, Goyal stated that India’s port capacity has doubled over the last decade, and another doubling will be required within the next ten years to support economic growth, with the UAE playing a key investment role.
Potential collaboration areas include Vadhavan in Maharashtra, new ports on the eastern coast in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, and developments along the western corridor between Karnataka and Kerala.
A structured working group is also being established to explore issues related to civil aviation cooperation, with discussions already in progress between India’s civil aviation ministry and their UAE counterparts.
The recent meeting covered a range of topics, including cooperation in space technology, food security, agricultural innovation, logistics, artificial intelligence, and financial technology.
These developments are set against the backdrop of growing economic relations between India and the UAE. The UAE has already invested $25 billion in India, making it the seventh-largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country.
Goyal mentioned that despite geopolitical tensions impacting trade, the exchange between the UAE and India is recovering to pre-war levels, with expectations of surpassing these figures in the near future. Merchandise exports from India have also seen an increase of over 15 percent in the first half of the year, with a target of reaching $1 trillion in exports this financial year.
