India-UAE trade, investment future looks extremely bright, says report

India-UAE trade, investment future looks extremely bright, says report

Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement is an important milestone in the historic partnership between India and the UAE.

Published: Thu 3 Mar 2022, 3:27 PM Last updated: Thu 3 Mar 2022, 3:29 PM

Trade between India and the UAE is projected to reach about $100 billion by 2030, registering significant growth from trade volumes worth $180 million in the 1970s and $60 billion in 2019, and reinforcing the strong potential for business between the two countries, according to a latest joint report by the Indian Business & Professional Council (IBPC) and KPMG, ‘India-UAE Bilateral Trade and Investment Report’.

The report highlights the substantial bilateral Foreign Direct Investment flow between the two countries over the past decade. While fDi Markets (Financial Times) estimates that cumulative bilateral FDI flow between the two countries from 2003-2021 is valued at over $57 billion, according to the UAE Embassy in India, the cumulative bilateral FDI stands at $67 billion.

India is the second largest trading partner of the UAE, whereas the UAE is the third largest trading partner for India, as of 2019. Petroleum products and gems and jewellery account for the majority of trade between India and the UAE (2016-2020), according to the report.

Farhan Syed, Partner, head of Advisory