India, UAE move closer to set up Rs 5 lakh crore joint infrastructure fund
Committing to a step-up in investments in India, the UAE said it is keen to tap opportunities in smart cities and the infrastructure sector.
NEW DELHI: Just a little over a fortnight since Narendra Modi became the first Indian PM to visit the UAE in 34 years, the two countries on Thursday inched towards creation of proposed $75-billion (about Rs 5 lakh crore) joint infrastructure investment fund. Both the countries set up Joint Business Council and decided to conclude bilateral Double Taxation Avoidance agreement and the Bilateral Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement to attract investment from the Gulf nation in infrastructure, energy, defence, railways and highways sectors.
In back-to-back high-level engagement, not seen in many years, UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan visited India for the 11th edition of Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) here to follow up on extensive outcome from Modi’s trip to Abu Dabhi and Dubai on August 16-17th.
Key among them was the setting up of the UAE-India Infrastructure Investment Fund and the commitment made by the two sides to step up bilateral trade by 60% over the next five years.
This was among the top items on the agenda of JCM. “The two sides agreed to increase the bilateral trade by 60% over the next five years and also to encourage the investment institutions of the UAE to raise their investments in India, including through the establishment of UAE-India Infrastructure Investment Fund, with the aim of reaching a target of $75 billion. The two sides agreed to work for early establishment of the planned India-UAE Joint Fund for investments in the infrastructure sector in India,” according to a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs following by the JCM that was cochaired by Al-Nahyan and his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj.
The ‘Make in India’ initiative offers scope for UAE investors in as many as 25 sectors including infrastructure, energy including renewable energy, defence, railways and highways, Sushma told Al-Nahyan as she wooed investments from the oil-rich Gulf nation. The two countries are one of the largest trade partners for each other.
An India-UAE Joint Business Council was inaugurated by the two foreign ministers and the two sides signed MoUs on cooperation in the areas of Higher Education & Scientific Research; Tourism, Specifications and Measures, for cooperation between the respective Telecom Regulatory Authorities and also between the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Federation of UAE Chambers of Commerce & Industry, according to MEA officials.
