Confederation of Indian Industry to open UAE office
abu dhabi — The UAE and India are one of each other’s largest trading partners and advancing this relationship to the next level, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is all set to open its office in the country in near future.
The CII is the largest industry chamber in India and its directorgeneral Chandrajit Banerjee confirmed an office will be opened in coming months. Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry first vice-chairman Ebraheem Mahmood Mohamed Al Mahmood on Sunday welcomed the visiting CII delegation.
CII president Shobana Kamineni said both the countries should continue to engage and an office in the UAE is the way to go forward.
“We will open an office here. I hope to see this engagement fructifying to great collaborations,” Shobana said during her keynote address.
Shobana said India has lot to learn from the UAE.
“Your development moved from infrastructure, natural resources and now to a knowledge economy.”
She hoped both countries can show the world an example of global cooperation that only gets stronger.
“India is the fastest growing country in the world at 7 per cent. Indian industry feels this is just the beginning. India is poised to move more than a percentage each year for the next three years,” she said.
Shobana said there was a wave of change seen in India and pointed out Goods and Services Tax, transparency, governance and ease of doing business among them.
“There are also lots of projects that are going to open up and there’s going to be a historic spends by the Indian government in terms of infrastructure. India is a place that can’t be ignored,” Shobana, who is executive vice chairperson of Apollo Hospitals, added.
Ambassador of India to the UAE Navdeep Singh Suri said trade and investment are crucial sectors in advancing bilateral relationship.
“Despite the fact that the UAE and India are one of each other’s largest trading partners, the reality is that we can’t be complacent. In a world moving so rapidly, if we stand still we move backwards because others will overtake us.”
Suri added the CII office will come in the UAE in very near future.
Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry director board member Yusuff Ali MA said the bilateral trade and investments are going from strength to strength.
“Today the whole world is looking to the UAE, particularly Abu Dhabi as one of the best destination for investment.”
He hoped the meeting will help cement the Indo-UAE relationship further. “The visit by CII delegation – the captains of Indian industry – to understand the business environment here and to discuss investment opportunities will surely promote business between both the countries,” Ali, who is also the CII national council member and co-chairman of CII Gulf committee, said.
Abu Dhabi Chamber members said they are all interested in knowing what the CII delegation is looking for and are open to offering all help.
“First we would like to confirm if the office is going to open in Abu Dhabi,” a board member said.
The delegation later also met Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan.
— ashwani@khaleejtimes.com