- Saturday, April 20, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIAN commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Friday (1) said the proposed free-trade agreement between India and the United Arab Emirates holds huge potential for both the countries to boost their trade and investment and investors in India are “very” positive about doing businesses in New Delhi.
Last month, India and the UAE formally launched negotiations on the pact, officially dubbed as the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
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“I see a huge potential in this (FTA) between the two countries. The UAE is a gateway to all of Africa and many other parts of the world. UAE also has a huge Indian diaspora, has a huge market for products like textiles, gems and jewellery, leather, footwear, and food products, which are labour oriented and provide economic opportunities,” Goyal said.
“I think the partnership will be a win-win for both the countries,” he added.
Both the countries have expressed a desire to reach a mutually beneficial economic deal and look to conclude negotiations by December and sign a formal agreement in March 2022 after the completion of internal legal procedures.
Talking about Dubai Expo 2020, Goyal said it is an outreach to the whole world to showcase a new India, one which is emerging as a technologically driven self-confident country. He added it would also showcase an India which will become an engine for growth for the whole world and which is willing to engage with any competition on equal terms.
Goyal added that huge opportunities present in India would be showcased in the Expo. Dubai Expo 2020 kicked off on Friday and the Indian industry minister inaugurated the India pavilion on the opening day.
In keeping with the themes of the Expo, the visitors will get a glimpse of Indian innovations and successes in the fields of space technology, robotics, electric mobility, edu-tech, e-commerce, energy, cybersecurity, healthcare, cryptocurrency and blockchain.
