Indian and Emirati ministers meet in Dubai for key summit

The inaugural two-day India-UAE Partnership Summit gets under way in Dubai on Monday as ministers meet to enhance an economic and political relationship central to both countries' futures.

Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, and Dr Abdullah bin Mohammed Belhaif Al Nuaimi, Minister of Infrastructure Development, will lead a line-up of federal and state ministers from India and UAE at the Armani Hotel at Burj Khalifa.

Mohammed Sharaf Al Hashemi, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for Economic and Commercial Affairs, will also attend the summit, Wam reported on Sunday.

The summit, being held under the theme, Investment Implementation, will deliberate about how important projects in India could be financed and executed with the participation of local businesses in the UAE.

It will also review trade and investment relations between the two countries in light of the joint statement adopted by the two sides during the visit of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, to India in January 2017.

The summit will welcome the participation of more than 800 delegates from the UAE and India, including government ministers, officials, business leaders, and private entrepreneurs, organised by the Business Leaders Forum, BLF, representing the UAE’s private sector.

The high-level event will be split into a number of brainstorming business sessions and panel discussions on a variety of topics, including investment implementation, infrastructure and tourism, while ministers from Telengana, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir in India, will present investment opportunities in key projects within the states and seek investment from potential partners in the UAE.

The event takes place as a backdrop to a recent announcement of US$1 billion investment by Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world, into India, and just a few days after Lulu Group announced a AED1.7 billion project in India.

The UAE is the 10th largest Foreign Direct Investment, FDI, source market for India with cumulative FDI reaching US$4.76 billion in the last 17 years.

Invest India, the foreign investment promotion body of India, said that it will attract $100 billion foreign investment in the country, of which $85 billion has already been committed by 600 large businesses that will create 700,000 jobs, according to recent reports.

FDI inflows into the country grew 8 percent and touched a new high of $60.08 billion in 2016-17, according to Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion. Cumulative FDI inflow from April 2000 to March 2017 reached $484.35 billion.