CII and Dubai Exports sign deal at Gulfood

Dubai: The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Dubai Exports on Sunday signed a Memorandum of Understanding to promote mutual cooperation in the expansion of trade, and to strengthen the economic and trade ties between India and Dubai.
The MoU was signed by Piruz Khambatta, chairman of the CII National Committee on food processing industries, and Saed Alawadi, the CEO of Dubai Exports, in the presence of Harsimrat Kaur Badal, minister for food processing industries, Government of India at the 2016 Gulfood exhibition.
Speaking to the media after the ceremony, Harsimrat Kaur Badal said that she was pleasantly surprised at the size of the Gulfood exhibition and saw huge potential for both Indian and UAE companies to work together.
"The UAE is a country that is looking for food security, and India is a country that has a food surplus and is looking to become a manufacturing hub for food production for the world. The UAE has the money, the technology and the know how, while India has the raw materials, the manpower, the skill and the scale for more work to be done. Besides being a huge consumer market, we are strategically located to become the South Asian hub for food production and manufacturing, as well as exporting to countries around the world, so I definitely see a host of opportunities in various segments," she said.
There is also a huge benefit for UAE companies to set up manufacturing plants in India, she added. "We need to look at how to better streamline the production and manufacturing processes. Instead of importing food materials to the UAE and then manufacturing them, we should look at the benefits of manufacturing in India itself and then exporting to countries in the Mena region, and around the world."
The CII is a non-government, not-for-profit, industry led and industry managed organisation, which plays a proactive role in India's development process by partnering with industries and government alike, through advisory and consultative processes. It is India's premier business association having 64 offices and nine centres of excellence in India, nine overseas offices in Australia, Bahrain, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Singapore, UK and USA, and institutional partnerships with 300 counterpart organisations in 106 countries.
Speaking on the trade ties between the two nations, Badal said: "Exports for the 2014-2015 period from India to the UAE stood at around $33 billion. The UAE is our second largest trading partner with almost $60 billion worth of trade. In addition, almost $3 billion worth of foreign direct investment has come into India from the UAE last year and all these statistics are set to rise in the coming years."
rohma@khaleejtimes.com