How UAE and India can help each other further
ABU DHABI — There is a huge scope to boost relations between the UAE and India in the services and technology sectors, and the emirate has great potential to become a hub and research centre for education, services and talent development, said Anil Khandelwal, former chairman of Bank of Baroda.
He also suggested that allowing more Indian banks to operate here in the UAE and vice-versa will foster competition and strengthen economic ties between the two. “Our business relations with the UAE are at its peak. There are huge opportunities for both countries to collaborate on different sectors and also grow economies with each other’s help. The potential scope could be in services, education, technology and other sectors,” Khandelwal said while addressing the annual gathering of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India in Abu Dhabi on Friday. “As a banker, I see there is a scope for expanding banking facilities. It would be good if more banking licences are given for branches opening to foster competition. Opportunities between the two are multiple,” he said.
Dubai can be an excellent centre for research. There is a huge scope in human resources and talent development sectors. Education and research are two sectors that can attract people from the Asian hemisphere such as Singapore and India to make Dubai a hub, so rather than going to Western countries, professionals can come here.”
Emirates NBD, the UAE’s second-largest lender, last week started operations in India with an aim to invest $100 million into its Indian operations. The branch will offer a range of services to corporate, SME and institutional clients including trade finance, treasury services, bilateral and syndicated loans in addition to supporting non-resident Indian customers looking for cross-border wealth management solutions.