India’s bilateral trade with the UAE currently stands at US$ 101.25bn
Technology, innovation, start-ups and fin-techs could help accelerate the Indo-UAE relations to US$ 200bn in the next few years, said a senior Indian diplomat at a conference, titled ‘Innovators and Investors Series’, organised by the Indian People’s Forum in Dubai.
India’s current bilateral trade with the UAE reached US$ 101.25bn marking the second consecutive year exceeding the US$ 100bn milestone. India’s Exports to the UAE exceeded US$ 37.35bn, making the UAE India’s second-largest export destination and third-largest trading partner overall.
India’s imports from the UAE stood at US$ 63.89bn, with India ranking as the UAE’s second-largest trading partner. Both nations have agreed to double bilateral trade to US$ 200bn by 2032.
Bilateral needed
“As the India-UAE bilateral trade exceeded the US$ 100bn level, we now need to start creating new avenues of cooperation to double this to US$ 200bn in the next few years,” stated Dr Vishnu Vardhan Reddy, Indian Consul General in Dubai and Northern Emirates.
India has over 797,230 startups, making it the third-largest startup hub globally. Of these, 35,500 are funded companies that have collectively raised US$ 683bn in venture capital and private equity. The country is home to 93 unicorns. A total of 121,969 investors have participated in 53,521 funding rounds, with 3,136 startups securing early-stage funding and 918 raising late-stage funding, according to a press statement.
Famous Bollywood actor and an investor Vivek Oberoi, said, while everyone celebrates success, it is equally important to celebrate failure. “We celebrate success a lot. But we should also celebrate failure as well as it is the lessons from failure that gives us success. I have my share of failures as well,” he indicated.
Strategic level
“The Indo-UAE relationship has reached a strategic level where two-way investment will further cement the bonding with greater benefit for both the countries. We are here to bring our diaspora to align ourselves to make sure that we contribute to the growth of the UAE-India relationship for the greater good of both the countries,” asserted Jitendra Vaidya, National President, IPF.
“We urge UAE’s investors to support the Indian start-ups in a bigger way and become part of this new growth engine and enjoy the higher return on investment from these start-ups,” noted Mahesh Advani, Convenor. PF Business Council.
“Indian businessmen, business leaders and investors will have to look at increasing their investment in start-ups, fin-techs, especially those powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning and robotics,” added Piyush Jhunjhunwala, Co-Convenor, IPF Business and Professional Council and Founder, Stockify.
