Dubai Sets the Template for Strong India-UAE Ties
In his Independence Day speech last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had highlighted the remarkable progress made by India in strengthening its ties with the countries of West Asia. As India celebrates its 75th Independence Day, the progress is most visible in the India-UAE relations, which as Dr. Aman Puri, Counsel General of India in Dubai, says has evolved into a comprehensive strategic partnership.
The UAE that is home to 3.3 million Indians is the third-largest trade partner of India and it is also a major exporter of crude oil. The country, over the years, has positioned itself as a knowledge-based economy with key contributions from Dubai which has been turned into a citadel of innovations by Indian startups. To put things in perspective, Indians form 30 percent of Dubai’s 3,000-strong startup community.
Dr. Puri sees a huge potential for further bilateral trade and investments. The UAE-India Food Security Summit held last year, he says, highlighting the importance of deeper collaboration. The UAE, in fact, has already committed to invest US$ 7 billion in India’s food sector and the UAE’s ambassador to India Ahmed Al Banna believes that it is the very opportune time for the two countries to escalate their food security cooperation.
It is not food sector alone that is playing a key role in cementing the trade ties. The UAE, in fact, has made considerable investment in India in sectors like logistics, highways, ports, airports, renewable energy defence and petrochemicals so much so that it is one of the largest sources of FDI inflows into India which stood at US$ 11.1 billion for the period between April 2000 and March 2021.
The UAE’s continued investment in India has caught the attention of Indian investors who reciprocate with equal gusto. They, in fact, rank first in investing in Dubai’s real estate sector. In 2019, Indians contributed 16% of the housing sales in Dubai and their investments have only grown further in the pandemic period. This was evident in the sector’s 8% contribution to the country’s GDP in the first quarter of 2020 – the largest contribution since early 2017.
As the ties between the UAE and India get stronger by the day, political observers and business analysts point out that it is the bold experiments of Dubai to build a knowledge-based economy that is defining the UAE-India relationship with an all-new template. “Dubai’s courage to experiment new ideas is strengthening the UAE-India relationship,” notes K.Venkitachalam, a chartered accountant who has offices in India’s major metros besides Dubai.
According to him, the friendly relationship between the two countries has gained further momentum since there is a perceptible shift in approach in terms of quality and culture. “Looking through the eyes of a chartered accountant, I see more assets than liability alongside huge reserves accrued over years, and a healthy balance sheet. Together, they promise us a bright Independence Day,” he summed up.
