The Hindu Business Line : India-UAE ties in trade, commerce below potential

IMPROVING BILATERAL TIES: The Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Mr Kamal Nath, and the UAE Minister for Economy, Ms Shaikha Lubna Al Qasimi, at the first meeting on India-UAE Trade Policy Forum in the Capital on Monday. — Ramesh Sharma

New Delhi May 28 India and the United Arab Emirates said on Monday that though their bilateral partnership in the realm of trade and commerce is strong, it is still way below the potential.

At the first meeting of the India-UAE Policy Forum held here, preceded by a one-to-one meeting between the Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Mr Kamal Nath, and the visiting Minister of Economy of the UAE, Ms Shaikha Lubna Al Qasimi, both the leaders expressed the hope that the Ministerial-level Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-India Industrial Conference, beginning in Mumbai on Tuesday, would impart greater thrust to India's economic cooperation with the Gulf region as a whole.

Bilateral trade

The two Ministers discussed a range of issues with a view of augmenting the level of bilateral trade. Mr Nath took up with the UAE Minister issues pertaining to opening of branches of Indian banks in UAE, including the State Bank of India, lifting of the ban on import of poultry products and removal of trade barriers such as registration guidelines, restrictive work permits, visa regime, and on import of pharmaceutical and chemicals, and allied products.

The UAE, in turn, referred to the anti-dumping measures on UAE products and companies, and issues relating to the successful establishment and implementation of Orissa alumina project.

Trade between India and the UAE stood at $12.9 billion in 2005-06. Of this, India's exports to the UAE were valued at $8.59 billion and imports from the UAE at $4.31 billion.

The UAE is India's top trading partner in the entire West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region, as the UAE also represents 75 per cent of India's entire exports to GCC counties. Indian exports to the UAE account of 6 per cent of India's global exports, an official release said here.