The UAE could be India’s number one trading partner and “the gateway to the region for Indian exports”, said His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on a state visit to the subcontinent this week.
Sheikh Mohammed ended the visit with a pledge to make the UAE India’s top trade partner, calling on each country’s private sector to take advantage of investment opportunities offered from both sides, Gulf News reported.
The statements came as the UAE and India signed deals worth more than $20 billion, mostly in the real estate sector, in a move to further boost ties between the two countries.
The biggest deal is a AED73.4 billion (nearly $20 billion) equal joint venture between Dubai’s real estate giant Nakheel and developers DLF in India to build two townships in India.
In addition, a AED3.67 billion ($1 billion) deal was closed between Dubai World and India’s Hinduja Group to construct a chain of hospitals in India, and Hinduja Group also invested AED1 billion ($275 million) into Nakheel’s Dubai Waterfront development.
“We know power centres in the world are shifting, and the UAE must be prepared to cooperate with the new centres, including India,” Sheikh Mohammed was quoted as saying by Gulf News.
The UAE ranks third in annual two-way trade with India, following close behind the US and China.
According to Gulf News, the two states signed five other agreements including three memorandums of understanding on technical cooperation, a protocol to avoid double taxation and a framework of agreement to develop industrial relations.
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