The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday said it was seeking substantial market access into India even as the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of UAE armed forces, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, completed the first leg of his two-day trip here.

The Crown Prince, who arrived here late Wednesday evening, met President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accompanied by a huge delegation consisting of seven Ministers and nearly 100 business leaders.

“We are waiting for India to find the right channel for our investments. We want to invest in India. But the climate of investment has to improve. We are seeking greater market access in India,” Anwar Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, UAE, told reporters during a roundtable discussion.

He said the UAE is keen to invest in the country’s ₹40,000-crore National Infrastructure Investment Fund.

However, he said the UAE is looking at a separate mechanism to channelise the money they will invest as that will be made out of their sovereign wealth fund.

The meeting between the Crown Prince and Modi took place late in the evening. As a result, it was decided that the joint statement will be issued on Friday.

The Minister also said the UAE was hoping for some concrete outcome from the India-UAE Joint Task Force on investments. He said the target to increase trade between India and UAE by 60 per cent from nearly $60 billion at present was “doable” and could be achieved only if there was “greater cooperation” in sectors such as IT, solar, sustainable energy among others.

This target was set during Modi’s visit to the UAE last August.

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