Sharjah24 - WAM: Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy (MoE), lauded the deep-rooted and historic relationship between the UAE and India, which was crowned by the signing of a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the two countries.
He made this statement during the visit of a high-level Emirati delegation to India after the CEPA entered into force on 1st May, 2022.
The delegation was headed by Bin Touq and included Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs, and several Emirati officials and investors.
Bin Touq said the purpose of the visit is to closely cooperate with Indian partners in developing new initiatives and projects aimed at promoting trade, investment and knowledge exchange in strategic sectors.
Under this framework, Bin Touq and Al Falasi held several bilateral meetings with ministers and senior officials from the Indian government to discuss next steps.
Bin Touq met with Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry of India, to discuss ways of implementing the provisions of the agreement, and its key role in supporting the manufacturing sector and boosting bilateral trade and exports between the two countries.
"We are looking forward to enlarging the scope of our cooperation within the framework of the CEPA," Bin Touq said.
Goyal said the CEPA between the two countries will strengthen their economic cooperation. The visit of the Emirati delegation reflected the commitment of both governments to support growth and future cooperation.
Goyal also stressed that the joint objective of the two countries is to increase their bilateral trade to US$100 billion and service trade to US$15 billion.
Bin Touq also met with Jyotiraditya Scindia, Indian Minister of Civil Aviation, to discuss how to benefit from the CEPA and keep pace with the expected increase in flights between the two countries.
The UAE is keen to enhance its cooperation with India in civil aviation, maintain the momentum in the sector, and adopt the best international practices in civil aviation, Bin Touq explained.
Scindia said the CEPA between the UAE and India is a new platform for boosting the cooperation between the two countries, most notably in civil aviation.
Bin Touq then met with Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance of India, to discuss enhancing their cooperation in the financial sector, exchanging relevant experiences, adopting the best practices in the sector, and promoting the use of digital solutions and advanced technologies.
Sitharaman said the economic partnership agreement between the UAE and India will help encourage investments between the two countries and upgrade them to higher levels.
Dr. Al Falasi met with Narayan Tatu Rane, Indian Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, to discuss their cooperation in this vital sector.
Al Falasi also met with Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister for Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship of India.
During the meeting, Pradhan highlighted the importance of the CEPA to bolster cooperation between the two countries.
The non-oil foreign trade between the UAE and India in 2021 was valued at AED165 billion, a growth of 66 percent compared to 2020.
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