- Sunday, November 24, 2024
Ahmed Aljneibi was in the Indian city where the council, in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry, held a business roundtable.
By: Shubham Ghosh
SINCE the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in 2022, non-oil bilateral trade between India and the UAE has surged, surpassing $50 billion (£39.4 billion). Ahmed Aljneibi, director of the UAE-India CEPA Council (UICC) who confirmed it, said this represents a 16 per cent increase.
The objective now is to push this figure closer to $100 billion (£79 billion) by the decade’s end.
“And we aim to make that around USD 100 billion by 2030. The CEPA Council aims to leverage the benefits of the agreement by informing the business community here in India, and specifically today here in Chennai, one of our first roundtables that we had. It’s been a fruitful discussion,” Aljneibi said in the southern Indian city of Chennai on Thursday (29).
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The UICC, in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), held a business roundtable for Chennai-based exporters aimed at promoting economic partnership between the two Asian nations.
“We aim to have more roadshows similar to this one that we had in Chennai today. We aim to go around the country, especially within the state of Tamil Nadu. I believe there are different opportunities here. Every city has a specialisation in terms of industry, and we aim to explore that and inform them of the opportunities that they can find,” he said.
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Speaking about his interaction with business representatives in Chennai, Aljneibi said he had an understanding that a lot of people were really keen to expand into the UAE.
“It’s just that they need that push of support or that source of support that they can find. And I think, I hope that, you know, the CEPA Council can provide that guidance for them, that support that they need as a platform,” he said.
The roundtable featured more than 20 participants from various sectors like logistics, automotive, agriculture, and healthcare. The roundtable provided a valuable platform for business-owners to discuss opportunities to benefit from the UAE-India CEPA, and the bilateral strategic partnership more broadly.
CEPA is a full and deep agreement signed on February 18, 2022, during a virtual summit between Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and the president of the UAE and ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
CEPA entered into force on May 1, 2022.
Some of the key sectors, including labour-intensive sectors, that have witnessed significant export growth on account of the CEPA include: mineral fuels; electrical machinery (particularly telephone equipment); gems & jewellery; automobiles (transport vehicles segment); essential oils/perfumes/cosmetics (beauty/skin care products); other machinery; cereals (rice); coffee/tea/spices; other agri products; and chemical products.
(With ANI inputs)
