Sharjah24 – WAM: A UAE high-profile delegation will visit India on Wednesday to explore prospects of joint investment and cooperation within the framework of the UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy, will lead the delegation with the participation of Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs; Dr. Ahmed Al Banna, UAE Ambassador to India; Juma Mohammed Al Kait, the Assistant Under-Secretary for Foreign Trade Affairs, Ministry of Economy; Faisal Al Hammadi, Acting Assistant Under-Secretary for Entrepreneurship and SMEs; Abdulla Mohamed Almazrui, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Osama Amir Fadhel, Assistant Under-Secretary for the Industrial Accelerators Sector at Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology; and over 80 representatives of the government and private sectors.
The visit aims to lay down sustainable mechanisms that empower the business community in both countries to maximise their benefit from the CEPA signed by the two countries in February 2022 and came into effect early this month.
The visit will also brief the UAE delegation about the facilities and services that the historic CEPA will provide to companies and businesses in both countries and the opportunities for building new sustainable partnerships that will leverage the UAE-India relations to unprecedented levels across various walks of economic work.
The agenda will focus on priority sectors for cooperation that remain key dynamic drivers for boosting ties: industrial production, civil aviation, financial services, ICT, food security, transport and infrastructure, logistical services, agri-technology, entrepreneurship, and other future economic factors sectors.
While in India, the delegation will hold a series of discussions with Indian ministers, senior government officials, and private sector leaders on the best ways to facilitate and double non-oil trade exchange under the CEPA.
The delegation will hold expanded meetings with leading Indian businessmen, entrepreneurs, and start-ups in New Delhi. In Mumbai, the Emirati-India public and private representatives will gather for the UAE-India Economic Partnership Summit.
The UAE's delegation includes representatives of 41 government and private entities, most notably: the Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ministry of industry and Advanced Technology, General Civil Aviation Authority, Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, DMCC, the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), and Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zones (RAKEZ), the Department of Economic Development in Fujairah, the UAE International Investors Council, Abu Dhabi Ports Group, Masdar, DP World, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, flydubai, Lulu Group International, Sharaf Group, Kanoo Group, Silal Company, and others.
India is the second-largest trading partner of the UAE in 2021. It accounted for 9% of the total volume of the UAE's trade with the world, and 13% of the UAE's non-oil exports, while the non-oil foreign trade between the two countries in 2021 reached AED165 billion, a growth of 66% compared to 2020.