India-UAE Business Summit at Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2024 to strengthen bilateral ties
12 January 2024: India-UAE Business Summit was held on 10th January 2024 to strengthen bilateral ties between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as part of Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2024.
UAE’s President His Highness (H.H.) Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is chief guest at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2024, further emphasising the growing cooperation and strengthening relations between the two nations. Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, extended a warm welcome to H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and remarked that India cherishes his thoughts and efforts to boost India-UAE ties.
Inaugural Session of India-UAE Business Summit included keynote addresses from Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles (India) and His Excellency (H.E.) Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Ministry of Economy (UAE) along with special remarks from Bhupendra Rajnikant Patel, Chief Minister of Gujarat.
A report on the CII India-UAE Start-Up Initiative titled “Unlocking Opportunities: India- UAE Start-Up Ecosystem Convergence” was also launched during the summit. Inaugural session was chaired by R. Dinesh, President, CII and Chairman, TVS Supply Chain Solutions Ltd. and included addresses from H.E. Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chief Executive Officer, DP World and M.A. Yusuff Ali, Chairman Lulu Group International, who mentioned their interest in increasing investment in food processing industry in India.
India-UAE trade rose to USD85 billion in 2022, making the UAE India’s third-largest trading partner for year 2022-23 and India’s second-largest export destination. In February 2022, India became the first country with which UAE signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). Bilateral trade has increased by approximately 15% since the entry into force of the CEPA on 1 May 2022.
CEPA was a landmark agreement designed to spark a new era of cooperation between two nations and strengthening the long-standing cultural, political and economic ties. It has helped reduce tariffs on more than 80% of product lines, eliminate barriers to trade and create new pathways for investment and joint ventures. In the first 12 months of the CEPA, bilateral non-oil trade reached US$50.5 billion, representing a growth of 5.8% compared to the corresponding period a year earlier. The two countries are fast moving towards the target of US$100 billion non-oil trade by 2030.
