New Delhi, 8 April (IANS). India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have signed several important agreements to strengthen bilateral economic partnership.
The agreement was reached during the visit of Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Defense Minister Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoom.
The important decision in the agreements made between India and the UAE is to set up the campus of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) in Dubai. The first MBA program in this campus will be started in September 2025. Along with this, the first foreign campus of the Indian Foreign Trade Institute (IIFT) will also be set up in Expo City in Dubai.
In addition, it has been announced to allocate land in Dubai for setting up of Indo-UAE Friendship Hospital, development of ship repair clusters in Kochi and Wadinar and the introduction of Bharat Mart construction. Under these agreements, an Indian office will also be opened in Dubai Chamber of Commerce, which will further strengthen business relations.
IIM- The establishment of the campus of Ahmedabad and IIFT in Dubai will further deepen educational cooperation between the two countries. This will help Dubai and UAE emerge as a major global educational center. Last year, the first Middle East Campus of IIT was opened in Abu Dhabi. These initiatives will benefit 4.3 million Indian community in the UAE and about 9 million Indians in the Gulf region.
India Mart and Virtual Trade Corridor (VTC) have been announced to further strengthen trade relations between India and UAE. Measures taken to support VTC and Friendship interface will give further boost to bilateral trade. Trade between the two countries has increased manifold since the CEPA (Compiring Economic Partnership Agreement) came into force. Through these initiatives, bilateral trade is expected to cross $ 97 billion and the non-tele trade target can reach $ 100 billion.
UAE people also come in large numbers in the field of healthcare in India. Members of many royal families of UAE have also benefited from India’s health and welfare system. As a retaliation of this contribution, the Dubai government has allocated land to establish ‘India-UAE Friendship Hospital’ in Dubai. The main objective of this hospital will be to provide cheap health services to the blue-collar workers of the Indian community settled in the UAE.
In addition, the Cochin Shipyard Limited and Drideock World (Dip World Company) have entered into an agreement for the development of Ship Repair Clusters, which will implement the best practices in Ship Repair Ecosystem in India and help to add additional capacity.
The establishment of the Indian office in Dubai Chamber of Commerce is also an important step to further strengthen the trade partnership between India and the UAE. Indian companies are top investors in Dubai tourism, hospitality, healthcare, retail, education and entertainment. Every year, Indian companies register new companies in Dubai Chamber of Commerce, which contribute 30–40 percent to Dubai companies.
Subsequently, Crown Prince also met Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal in Mumbai and discussed the rapid growth of bilateral trade under CEPA. Goyal hoped that these important agreements would further strengthen the economic relations between India and the UAE and will reach new heights.
-IANS
PSM/CBT
