Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday said that there was lot of untapped potential to boost trade and investment in the hydrocarbon sector with the UAE.
In a bilateral meeting with UAE Energy Minister Suhail Mohammed Al Mazrouei, he said that while there were no upstream engagements by any Indian exploration and production companies in the UAE, Indian public sector units are interested in seeking partnership in this area.
He also said that Indian companies are interested in acquiring a stake in ADCO (Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Petroleum Operations).
Expressing confidence that these companies are well-qualified to undertake Engineering Procurement Contracts (EPCs) in the UAE, the Minister said Engineers India Ltd (EIL) is keen to undertake EPC projects. “He also suggested that there was considerable potential for establishing joint ventures in petrochemicals, fertilisers and project export sectors,” an official statement added.
Pradhan also sought investments from UAE in important projects in the hydrocarbon projects in India. These projects are at various levels of maturity and development and the required investment will be for the next four months to four years.
Investment drive Terming UAE as India’s preferred partner, he expressed confidence that the Gulf nation will take advantage of these investment opportunities in India.
Meanwhile, India and UAE also decided to cooperate in promoting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups as well as discussed investment opportunities in infrastructure.
The issues were discussed at a bilateral meeting between Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and UAE Minister of Economy Sultan Al Mansoori. “It was decided that the respective institutions and industry associations engaged with SMEs would cooperate to harness growth of the sector in both the countries,” said a Finance Ministry release.
Jaitley also highlighted the investment opportunities available in India for the UAE, including the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund.