India is expecting larger pools of FDI and FII from the UAE, even as investors from the West Asian country are looking to set up a food park in Gujarat. Addressing a press conference in Abu Dhabi, India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that data centres, technology, banking, startups, and green energy are major focus areas for UAE investors in India.
India and the UAE are expanding bilateral trade with a target of $100 billion in non-oil, non-precious metals trade by 2030.
Stating that investments being made across several countries are keeping IMEC (India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor) at the back of their planning process, he referred to a high-speed rail link in the UAE going right up to the Saudi Arabian border, adding that every country in the IMEC chain has started reorienting its investments in a certain manner.
On the deepening of collaboration with the UAE, he said that India is working on virtual documentation and harmonisation of standards for its pharmaceuticals with the West Asian country.
A charitable hospital is also being set up in the UAE for blue-collared members of the Indian diaspora. While the Minister said that bankers are finding it lucrative to expand their operations in India, including in the GIFT City in Gujarat, he clarified that Rupee-Dirham trade was not a topic of discussion.
The Minister informed that tendering for the upcoming Bharat Mart has started, and with work slated to begin later this year, he expects it to be operational by early 2027. Over 9,000 companies have shown Expression of Interest (EoI) in Bharat Mart, a 2.7 million square feet complex located in Jebel Ali Free Zone in the UAE, which aims to enable Indian manufacturers and exporters to showcase their products to the world.
The Minister added that Bharat Mart will have showrooms and warehouses, will service clients on a real-time basis, and will receive logistics and finance support from the UAE ecosystem.
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