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No looking back for UAE, India

The UAE also seeks to increase its footprint in Indian economy by boosting its investments to $70 billion.

It is banal and platitudinous to say the UAE and India will make great partners. Even if we take a cursory look at some of the numbers, it becomes all too clear even to the naïve how important the relationship has been. India is the second largest trading partner of the UAE which, in turn, is New Delhi's third largest trading partner after the US and China. Over 2.6 million Indian workers in the UAE contributing $12.6 billion a year in remittances have been the solid bulwarks of this enduring and stable partnership.
All the ingredients for a blossoming and budding relationship have been present for a long while. Only thing needed was a bit of inspired prodding from political leadership to get the love story going. With last month's visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the UAE, the long-awaited push has happened. Foreign Minster Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and his high-level team in New Delhi have firmed up details of what promises to be a great partnership between the two great nations.
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The UAE and India have set themselves the ambitious target of boosting bilateral trade by 60 per cent, which is by no means an impossible task if the sufficient political will was forthcoming from both the sides. The UAE also seeks to increase its footprint in Indian economy by boosting its investments to $70 billion. The UAE's Minister of State for Economic Affairs, Reem Ibrahim Al Hashemi, expressed particular interest in the Modi government's newly-launched initiatives such as Make in India, Digital India and Smart Cities. Infrastructure too is an area where the UAE companies are keen to partner with India.
The UAE has sent a clear political message that it is keen to deepen its economic partnership with India. Shaikh Abdullah's team has been able to meet and apprise Indian business community of opportunities in the UAE. If all goes well according to plan, growing links between the UAE, which ranks 22nd in ease of doing business, and India, the world's fastest growing economy, should do a world of good to both the nations.