India UAE Trade

Recent Trends & developments

• In 2022, bilateral trade between India and Saudi Arabia surged to US$ 42.86 billion, positioning Riyadh as Delhi's fourth-largest trade partner and Delhi as Riyadh's second-largest trade partner. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Aramco's mounting interest in India are part of a broader strategic plan to transform Aramco from an oil firm into a global industrial conglomerate and make PIF the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world.
• During the food summit held in December 2020, the UAE committed to investing US$ 7 billion in India's food sector.
• DP World, a smart logistics provider, fully owned by the Government of the UAE has presented an expansion opportunity to Indian businesses and exporters. The firm is in talks to set up India Mart Traders, a platform for Indian businesses to trade with UAE local and regional markets.
• On the 75th anniversary of India's independence and the 50th year of UAE's foundation. Two MOUs signed between Indian and UAE entities were also announced during the summit. These are, MOU between APEDA and DP World & Al Dahra on the Food Security Corridor initiative and MOU between India’s Gift City and Abu Dhabi Global Market on cooperation in financial projects and services. Two other MOUs – one on cooperation in Climate Action and the other on Education have also been agreed between the two sides.
• The UAE has acknowledged the role played by Indians in its economic development, and recently the UAE government allotted 26 acres for the construction of a temple in Abu Dhabi, which speaks volumes about the level of respect the two countries share.
• I2U2 framework: In July 2022, a new quadrilateral forum was established called the I2U2, whose members are India, Israel, UAE, and the US. The forum identifies six areas of cooperation, namely water, food security, health, energy, transportation, and space.
• The 14th India-UAE Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) was co-chaired by External Affairs Minister Mr. S. Jaishankar and Foreign Minister of UAE Mr. Sheikh Abdulla bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on September 1, 2022. Two MOUs were signed between both sides in the presence of the Ministers. These are, MOU between the Wildlife Institute of India and the International Fund for Houbara Conservation for the Conservation of the Great Indian Bustard and the Lesser Florican and MOU between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of UAE and Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) on the Establishment of the India-UAE Cultural Council Forum.
• India and UAE successfully held the 1st Meeting of the Joint Committee (JC) of the India-UAE CEPA on June 12, 2023. Both sides reviewed the bilateral trade under the CEPA, agreed to operationalize the established committees/sub-committees/technical council under the CEPA, agreed on mutual exchange of preferential trade data on quarterly basis for effective monitoring of the CEPA, discussed various matters related to the implementation of the Agreement and agreed on addressing any issue that may potentially act as a hindrance to CEPA implementation or its usage by businesses on both sides, agreed on creation of a new sub-committee on Trade in Services, and also agreed to set-up a UAE-India CEPA Council (UICC) as a B2B collaboration mechanism, with a focus on MSMEs and start-ups, for building greater economic linkages and optimizing CEPA benefits.
• Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi met H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE and the Ruler of Abu Dhabi over delegation level and one-on-one talks in Abu Dhabi on July 15, 2023. The two leaders held wide ranging discussions covering various dimensions of the bilateral partnership, including trade & investment, fintech, energy, renewables, climate action, higher education and people to people ties. The two leaders witnessed the exchange of three significant documents:
  • MoU between RBI and UAE Central Bank for the establishment of a framework to promote the use of local currencies (INR - AED) for cross-border transactions.
  • MoU between RBI and UAE Central Bank for bilateral cooperation on interlinking their payment and messaging systems.
  • MoU between Ministry of Education of India, Department of Education and Knowledge, Abu Dhabi and IIT Delhi for planning to establish IIT Delhi - Abu Dhabi, UAE.
• India and UAE signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed on October 5, 2023, to cooperate more closely in sustainable industrial development. The MoU was signed by H.E Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and H.E Mr. Piyush Goyal, India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, in the presence of H.H Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council. 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.
• Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi together with President Mr. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of UAE, co-hosted the High-level event on ‘Green Credits Programme’ at COP-28, on December 1, 2023, in Dubai. The event saw participation of H.E. Mr. Ulf Kristersson, Prime Minister of Sweden, H.E. Mr. Filipe Nyusi, President of Mozambique and H.E. Mr. Charles Michel, President of the European Council. The Green Credit Initiative has been conceptualized as a mechanism to incentivize voluntary pro-planet actions, as an effective response to the challenge of climate change and envisions the issue of Green Credits for plantations on waste/degraded lands and river catchment areas, to rejuvenate and revive natural eco-systems.
• Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, and Textiles Mr. Piyush Goyal addressed the UAE India Business Summit during the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit where he stated that India-UAE aim to elevate bilateral trade to US$ 100 billion. He also highlighted the bilateral trade growth under the India UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). He stressed on key collaborations like the India-Middle East-Europe economic corridor and initiatives promoting Rupay aiming to bolster trade relations further, facilitating direct transactions between the rupee and dirham.