UAE, India sign MoU to drive investment, collaboration in industry

Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, and Piyush Goyal, India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, signed the MoU in the presence of Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The MoU signing is in line with the UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), aimed at enhancing the country's position as a gateway for trade and logistics.

The agreement was signed during the 11th meeting of the UAE-India High-Level Joint Task Force on Investments.

Focusing on facilitating industrial investments, technology transfer and enabling the deployment of key technologies in industries, the MoU will benefit both countries through joint industrial and technological developments.

Dr. Al Jaber said, “In line with the UAE leadership’s vision, we are committed to strengthening bilateral relations to enhance sustainable and economic growth. Given the UAE’s strong relationship with India across the economic, technological, and social domains, we are pleased to sign this MoU to further develop the industrial sector in line with advanced technology and sustainability standards. This aligns with the objectives of the national industrial strategy, and ‘Make it in the Emirates’ initiative, aimed at transforming the UAE into a global hub for advanced industry, especially industries of the future.”

He added, “The MoU encompasses various aspects of cooperation aimed at promoting industrial investments in priority sectors for the national economies of both countries, including advanced industries, energy transition solutions, healthcare, and space. It also aims to develop innovative and technological solutions that support sustainability and climate neutrality efforts. By working closely within these strategic sectors, the UAE and India can accelerate sustainable growth and diversify their economies, promoting industries that are more competitive, efficient, and sustainable.”

Goyal commented, “This MoU opens new doors to develop cooperation efforts and build an institutional framework in the fields of emerging technologies. It will help in promoting and developing bilateral cooperation in sectors such space, healthcare, renewable energy, artificial intelligence, and many other vital areas.”

The MoU focuses on seven key areas, including supply chain resilience, renewable energy and energy efficiency, health and life sciences, space systems, AI, Industry 4.0 and advanced technologies, as well as standardisation and metrology.

To build supply chain resilience, the UAE and India will collaborate to identify opportunities to supply raw materials. They will also share best practices on industrial enablement and incentivisation for industrial growth and development, for instance in areas such as energy, land, CAPEX, OPEX, technology, and labour.

In the energy space, the UAE and India will collaborate in advancing energy storage technologies, Smart Grid and IoT deployment, and R&D in renewable energy and energy efficiency. Similarly, in health and life sciences, the countries will collaborate in the development of pharmaceuticals, the use of biotechnology, and R&D.

The UAE and India are also seeking to enhance their respective space industries through closer collaboration in space systems. The MoU will help the countries to collaborate in the commercial development, launch and use of small satellites for communication and Earth observation, as well as space exploration. The countries will also collaborate in the development of licensing of space-related materials, in addition to R&D in the space sector.

In the field of AI, the UAE and India will cooperate in deploying AI technologies in the space sector, energy, healthcare and supply chains. Both countries will work together to advance capabilities in machine learning and data analytics across priority sectors.

Under the MoU, the UAE and India will also collaborate in the deployment of 4IR technologies in industry, real-time data processing, the development of machine-to-machine control systems, the development of autonomous robotics, equipment and vehicles, as well as the deployment of additive manufacturing in key industries.

The final area of collaboration is standardisation, metrology, conformity assessment, accreditation, and Halal certification. The countries will exchange information including procedures, guidelines, and lists of regulated products. The countries will also cooperate to harmonise standards with international requirements and work towards the mutual recognition of the conformity assessment results.

Under the MoU, cooperation includes industrial and academic collaborations as well as collaborative research and development projects. The countries will also share best practices relating to science and technology policies.