NEW DELHI // A UAE-India task force was formed yesterday to look at new opportunities for investment between the two countries.
The announcement was made at a news conference by the Indian external affairs minister, SM Krishna, at the end of a two-day visit by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, the UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The UAE and India are each other's biggest trading partners, and bilateral trade between the two countries in 2011-12 was worth US$67 billion (Dh246bn).
The energy and property sectors appear particularly primed for an increase in trade.
The new task force is to be led by Sheikh Hamad bin Zayed, the managing director of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia), and Anand Sharma, India's commerce minister.
Sheikh Abdullah's trip to India was his third in less than a year, Mr Krishna pointed out, "an indication of the priority that each of us accords to our bilateral relations."
Sheikh Abdullah also met Mr Sharma and India's finance minister Pranab Mukherjee. Apart from the task force, the agenda included India's imports of UAE oil as well as Adia's investments in Indian real estate.
Sheikh Abdullah said that he "would like to see more UAE energy exports to India especially when it comes to crude oil … There are talks between our officials looking at these avenues and even further. We would like to see UAE presence in downstream investments in India, including petrochemicals".
India has recently cut, by 11 per cent, its imports of crude oil from Iran, under pressure from the United States, and the UAE - at present India's fifth biggest supplier of oil - could well pick up that slack.
In 2011-12 alone, India imported 15.79 million tonnes of crude oil from the Emirates, up from 14.7 million tonnes the year before.
"With India's growing refinery capacity, the UAE as a source of crude oil" would become increasingly important, said Chandarajit Banerjee, the director general of the Confederation of Indian Industry, a non-governmental body.
Sanjaya Baru, a New Delhi-based director for geoeconomics and strategy at the International Institute for Security Studies, noted the recent visits by Indian diplomats to the UAE and to Saudi Arabia "to ensure supplies of oil … There is a lot of traffic between Delhi and the Gulf capitals".
The UAE, said Mr Baru, has made several major investments in India. The UAE ranks among the top 10 countries investing in the republic, with an estimated $8 billion invested in sectors such as telecommunications and real estate. Adia's real-estate investments, estimated at $400 to $500 million, are further evidence of deepening ties.
Adia's investments were made through property funds and private equity funds. In March, a source told Reuters that Adia was looking for opportunities to increase its direct investment.
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ssubramanian@thenational.ae
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Western Region Asia Cup T20 Qualifier
Sun Feb 23 – Thu Feb 27, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the Asia qualifier in Malaysia in August
Group A
Bahrain, Maldives, Oman, Qatar
Group B
UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
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Indika
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
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The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
More from UAE Human Development Report:
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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You may remember …
Robbie Keane (Atletico de Kolkata) The Irish striker is, along with his former Spurs teammate Dimitar Berbatov, the headline figure in this season’s ISL, having joined defending champions ATK. His grand entrance after arrival from Major League Soccer in the US will be delayed by three games, though, due to a knee injury.
Dimitar Berbatov (Kerala Blasters) Word has it that Rene Meulensteen, the Kerala manager, plans to deploy his Bulgarian star in central midfield. The idea of Berbatov as an all-action, box-to-box midfielder, might jar with Spurs and Manchester United supporters, who more likely recall an always-languid, often-lazy striker.
Wes Brown (Kerala Blasters) Revived his playing career last season to help out at Blackburn Rovers, where he was also a coach. Since then, the 23-cap England centre back, who is now 38, has been reunited with the former Manchester United assistant coach Meulensteen, after signing for Kerala.
Andre Bikey (Jamshedpur) The Cameroonian defender is onto the 17th club of a career has taken him to Spain, Portugal, Russia, the UK, Greece, and now India. He is still only 32, so there is plenty of time to add to that tally, too. Scored goals against Liverpool and Chelsea during his time with Reading in England.
Emiliano Alfaro (Pune City) The Uruguayan striker has played for Liverpool – the Montevideo one, rather than the better-known side in England – and Lazio in Italy. He was prolific for a season at Al Wasl in the Arabian Gulf League in 2012/13. He returned for one season with Fujairah, whom he left to join Pune.
liverpool youngsters
Ki-Jana Hoever
The only one of this squad to have scored for Liverpool, the versatile Dutchman impressed on his debut at Wolves in January. He can play right-back, centre-back or in midfield.
Herbie Kane
Not the most prominent H Kane in English football but a 21-year-old Bristolian who had a fine season on loan at Doncaster last year. He is an all-action midfielder.
Luis Longstaff
Signed from Newcastle but no relation to United’s brothers Sean and Matty, Luis is a winger. An England Under-16 international, he helped Liverpool win the FA Youth Cup last season.
Yasser Larouci
An 18-year-old Algerian-born winger who can also play as a left-back, Larouci did well on Liverpool’s pre-season tour until an awful tackle by a Sevilla player injured him.
Adam Lewis
Steven Gerrard is a fan of his fellow Scouser, who has been on Liverpool’s books since he was in the Under-6s, Lewis was a midfielder, but has been converted into a left-back.