DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates and India signed a “milestone” economic deal to boost trade and investment Friday, as the countries seek to bolster their economies after the coronavirus pandemic.
Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the UAE’s de facto ruler, and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a virtual summit to witness the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, among other pacts.
The deal’s signing “is a milestone event in our bilateral relations”, the official Emirati news agency WAM quoted Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar as saying.
“It will open new opportunities in both trade in goods and services, and will lead to enhanced investments.”
WAM said the pact is “expected to usher in a new era of economic cooperation and unlock greater avenues for trade and investment”.
India-UAE trade is valued at $59 billion, making the oil-rich Gulf country India’s third largest trading partner for the year 2019-20, after China and the United States, according to the Indian foreign ministry.
The UAE is India’s third largest export destination with nearly $16 billion clocked in 2020-21, it added.
Major exports include petroleum products, precious metals, stones, gems and jewellery, minerals, food items and textiles.
The UAE hopes that non-oil trade with India will rise from pre-pandemic levels of $40 billion to more than $100 billion within five years, WAM said.
The two countries have had close and friendly ties for decades, establishing diplomatic relations in the early 1970s — shortly after the Gulf country’s founding.
Indians in the UAE make up the largest expatriate community, approximately 35% of its 10 million strong population.
Remittances sent back to India from its citizens in the Emirates reached more than $17.06 billion in 2019, according to the Indian foreign ministry.
Earlier this week, the UAE signed a similar package of deals with Turkey.