India and UAE catalysing the vision of an Asian century

Building on over 5,000 years of rich cultural and historical ties between the Indian subcontinent and the Arabian Gulf, the collaborative partnership between India and UAE has grown from its early days of trade in timber, spices and ivory to one in which bilateral trade has grown over $59 billion in the past few years.

For the UAE, India has emerged as the largest trading partner with around 15 per cent of UAE’s exports and about 9 per cent of its re-exports coming to India. I truly believe that this dynamism between the two countries has also metamorphosed into strategic and synergetic alliances, with India now being the third largest exporter to the UAE accounting for 9.2 per cent of total imports by the UAE.

In terms of investments, the IndiaUAE bilateral relationship has gained significant traction with the UAE becoming the 10th biggest investor in India in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI) with an estimated $8 billion invested in India, almost half of which is in the form of FDI, while the remaining is portfolio investment.

This traditionally close and friendly bilateral relationship has evolved into a significant strategic partnership in the economic and commercial sphere wherein destinies of the two nations are tightly intertwined, thereby laying the foundation for synergies in various areas.

Firstly, the two countries share an unequivocal passion for innovation and entrepreneurship, which has taken the front stage to drive economic growth and prosperity. An India-UAE technology platform and entrepreneurship corridor established on the ethos of D.I.C.E (Design Innovation led Creativity and Entrepreneurship) to exchange knowledge, technology, and best practices could further catalyze the development of both the nations. A case in point could be Indian Entrepreneurs leveraging the UAE’s Regulatory Sandbox framework (helping startups to test their innovation in regulatory free environment) to boost innovation in the fintech space. On the other hand, India offers large customer base and infrastructure, to UAE’s entrepreneurs looking to expand their services to the international markets.

Secondly, the strategic alliances and economic cooperation between the two nations in multilateral sectors including space, exploration, finance, infrastructure, cyber security and renewable energy could go a long way in creating sustainable equitable economies in both the nations. The recent landmark visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the UAE after 34 years has marked the beginning of a new and comprehensive strategic partnership in this direction. Initiatives such as UAE-India Infrastructure Investment Fund, with the aim of reaching a target of $75 billion to support investment in India’s plans for rapid expansion of next generation infrastructure, especially in railways, ports, roads, airports and industrial corridors and parks could help both the nations to grow synergistically.

Thirdly consolidating cooperation between UAE’s sophisticated and technological institutions and India’s universities/think-tanks/research institutes could be beneficial for the scientific collaboration required to find innovative solutions for today’s social and economic issues in the areas of renewable energy, sustainable development, arid agriculture, desert ecology, urban development and advanced healthcare. Further, there has been interest in the global expanse of Indian educational institutions to the UAE and vice versa, which could be instrumental to the development of aspiring minds of our younger generations.

And finally, these commercial ties have transcended into the cultural landscape, with ~2.5 million Indian representing around 27 per cent of the total UAE’s residents — forming a quintessential part of UAE’s effervescent society and its sustained prosperity. Both the countries are shining examples of open and multicultural societies, and can work together to promote their cultural traditions, spiritual values and shared heritage values for a peaceful and inclusive global community.

In today’s contemporary setting, India and UAE’s economic development have set the benchmark for global progressive index, transforming the nations into thriving international hubs that attract people and businesses from across the world. Both the nation’s rapid growth, modernisation along with their technological advancements and large markets, make them two of the indispensable anchors of the global economy. Further, India has now emerged amongst top 10 destinations for attracting FDI, with an investor-friendly political and commercial environment, and an unmatched talented resource pool of scientists, engineers and technicians. This potential along with symbiotic synergetic growth opportunities creates a perfect setting to further catapult India-UAE ties by offering investment opportunity to participate in governmental initiatives like ‘Make in India’ campaign. Through trade, political cooperation, entrepreneurship and innovation, UAE and India are creating a vibrant landscape wherein government, corporate and citizens can build a cohesive ecosystem not only for sustainable development, but also to work towards realising the vision of an Asian Century. The writer is MD and CEO, Yes Bank and chairman, Yes Global Institute. Views expressed are his own and do not reflect the newspaper’s policy.