- The UAE has signaled another $25bn investment in India.
- Bilateral trade reached $101.25bn in FY2025-26.
- India and the UAE are targeting $200bn in trade by 2032.
The UAE is set to step up its investment in India, with the country indicating plans for another $25bn of investment in the near future as both sides look to deepen their economic partnership.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal announced the investment intent after the 14th India-UAE High-Level Joint Task Force on Investments meeting in Mumbai on Monday (28).
The UAE has already invested around $25bn in India and is the country's seventh-largest source of foreign direct investment, Goyal said. The two countries are working toward an eventual UAE investment target of $100bn in India.
The latest investment pipeline covers sectors including ports, shipbuilding, space, food security, logistics, fintech, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.
From $100bn trade to $200bn
Trade is another major part of the expanding relationship.
India-UAE bilateral trade reached $101.25bn in FY2025-26, according to India's embassy in Abu Dhabi. The two countries have set a target of taking annual bilateral trade to $200bn by 2032.
The target was agreed after the two countries' Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which came into force in 2022. The agreement has helped deepen trade in goods and services between the two markets.
The UAE is already India's third-largest trading partner and second-largest export destination, with Indian exports to the UAE exceeding $37.35bn in FY2025-26.
Goyal said the UAE was examining opportunities in areas including Indian ports, shipbuilding, space, startups and the country's stock market.
Shipping is emerging as a particular area of cooperation. India and the UAE plan to establish working groups covering ship ownership, modern ports, ship manufacturing, repair and maintenance, ship breaking and container manufacturing.
India is also expected to need significantly greater port capacity as its economy expands. Goyal said the country would need to double its port capacity over the next decade, with projects such as Vadhavan Port in Maharashtra and developments along India's eastern and western coasts offering opportunities for investment.
Energy and India's $1tn export ambition
Energy security is another area where the two countries are exploring deeper cooperation.
The discussions include strategic petroleum reserves and the possibility of the UAE becoming a larger supplier of LPG and LNG to India. The two sides are also examining infrastructure for gas transportation and storage.
Goyal also said India was targeting $1tn in goods and services exports this financial year. He said exports had reached $863bn last year, while merchandise exports were up by more than 15 per cent in the first part of the current financial year.
The expanding India-UAE relationship also extends into technology. The two countries have previously agreed to explore cooperation on advanced areas including artificial intelligence and a supercomputing cluster involving India's C-DAC and UAE-based G42.
For the UAE, the latest investment signal adds another potential $25bn to an already substantial presence in India. For India, the focus is increasingly shifting from trade alone toward infrastructure, energy, technology and manufacturing partnerships that could support its longer-term growth and export ambitions.
