The two-day summit kicks off at the Atlantis Hotel on October 30, 2018
The Indian economy, which registered 8.2 % growth in the first quarter of 2018-19 fiscal year, the highest in recent history, is expected to attract large-scale investment from the GCC to India, following the recent announcement of the development of a US$44 billion oil refinery to be built by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Saudi Aramco and Indian counterparts.
The announcement comes a few months after Emirates Group announced a US$4.23 billion (INR300 billion) aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) project in Andhra Pradesh in February this year.
Although these projects will take years to take shape, they reflect a growing investment appetite by Gulf investors in to India’s growing economy.
“We are delighted to support the 2nd India-UAE Partnership Summit (IUPS) being organised by Business Leaders Forum (BLF) and its objectives and agenda fit perfectly into our own efforts to promote the strategic partnership between India and UAE,” HE Navdeep Singh Suri, Ambassador of India to the UAE, said at a recent press conference.
“We are working with major UAE entities like Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Mubadala and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), with leading companies like DP World and Emaar Properties and also with some of the top NRI-owned business groups to promote investment into India.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India increased to US$61.96 billion in 2017-18, according to Indian Government’s Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). Total FDI reached US$ 61.96 billion in the last four years, it said.
HE Juma Al Kait, Assistant Under-secretary of the UAE Ministry of Economy, said, “The India-UAE Partnership Summit (IUPS) provides a unique platform to highlight investment potentials in India and the UAE and create awareness among investors, about these opportunities.
Meanwhile, two-way trade between the two countries is expected to cross US$100 billion a year by 2020, according to recent reports.
“This year the IUPS is focusing on the two important sectors of education and SMEs. I am happy that at least four Indian States—Punjab, Assam, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry have already confirmed their participation in the Summit,” observed HE Vipul, Consul General of India in Dubai.
Business Leaders Forum (BLF) was formally launched in March 2017 and has been set up under the direct guidance of the UAE Ministry of Economy, Embassy of India and Consulate General of India with India Trade & Exhibition Centre (ITEC) acting as the official Secretariat of BLF.
Dr. Ram Buxani, President of the BLF, said, “We are witnessing a new era in the economic growth of India as well as the India-UAE relationship and investment landscape marked by high-level strategic cooperation.”
Sudesh Aggarwal, Board Member of the BLF, Chairman of the IUPS Organising Committee and Chairman of India Trade and Exhibition Centre (ITEC), said, “Last year, we announced the creation of an Emirati Investors’ Group to generate funds for investing in state-sponsored big-ticket projects that will be offered to us by invitation only and we will be investing US$1 billion.”
The UAE is the 10th largest FDI source market for India with cumulative FDI reaching US$ 4.76 billion in the last 17 years from April 2000 till March 2017.
Invest India, the foreign investment promotion body of India, said it will attract US$ 100 billion foreign investment in the country, of which US$ 85 billion has already been committed by 600 large businesses that will create 700,000 jobs, according to recent reports.
