Top business houses of India and UAE last week came together to launch the UAE India Business Council - UAE Chapter. The objective is to boost trade and investment between the two countries. The event marks the first anniversary of India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), signed on February 18, 2022, covering different aspects such as healthcare, digital trade, government procurement, IPR, etc.

The trade pact aims to increase India-UAE bilateral trade to $100 billion and according to reports trade between the two countries witnessed 27.5 percent growth to $57.8 billion from $45.3 billion during the first eight months from April-November 2022. In value terms, the increase amounts to $12.5 billion. This growth – along with $75 billion increase in investment from UAE to India - is encouraging.

During the same period, India’s exports to UAE witnessed a strong growth of 19.32 percent to $20.8 billion from $17.45 billion. During the June 2022-January 2023 period, non-oil exports rose by 5 percent y-o-y to $15.2 billion, against 3 percent rise in imports to $16.8 billion and according to latest estimate, our exports to UAE may cross $31 billion during the current fiscal, driven by sectors like gems and jewellery, machinery and auto.