Dubai
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia) is planning to invest in housing and infrastructure projects in India, the Indian ambassador to the UAE said on Tuesday. The formal announcement, which will include additional details, could be made within weeks, he said.
“Some investments announcements from Adia may be forthcoming in the next couple of weeks. The investment is mainly going into affordable housing, airports, renewable energy, and now we are looking at new areas including a lot of possibilities in highways and railways, but those are under discussion,” Navdeep Singh Suri, Indian Ambassador to UAE, told Gulf News on the sidelines of a press conference.
He declined to give further details on the size of the investments, citing non-disclosure agreements by the Adia, which was not available for comment.
The investments is a result of the joint effort between India and the UAE through the establishment of UAE-India Infrastructure Investment Fund, with the aim of reaching a target of $75 billion, an outcome from the historic visit of the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi to the UAE in August 2015.
“It is incumbent on us putting up financially viable projects that match the intent of the UAE side. We having working relationship with sovereign funds here. We are in close contact with business groups here,” Suri said.
DP World has already signed a memorandum of understanding with the National infrastructure fund to invest a billion dollars.
“At this stage there are multiple channels, multiple tracks that are open. However as any businessman will tell you. From the time the discussions begin between two parties, and actual culmination of contract to the actual flow of funds, there will be a time lag. I’m very optimistic that we are moving in the right direction,” Suri added.
Legacy issues:
Suri said some of the companies with legitimate grievances during earlier administrations, which involved red tape along with other issues, are still actively looking to invest in India, He said he does not see the grievances as obstacles for any further investments. In 2015, one of the issues that was on the top of the agenda of the finance minister Arun Jaitely was to solve the legacy issues of UAE companies, which were already operating in India.
In the high level task force on investments that was established between two countries, Suri said that they were given 6-7 specific cases involving UAE companies, and they have successfully resolved 4 cases.
“I can say with confidence that at least 4 of those 6-7 cases are today off the table. There are couple of them in the pipeline. There is one which involves the courts so there is a limited role that government can play, because it is
sub-judice,” Suri said.
“You can’t allow a clouded past to obstruct a bright future. If you keep looking backward, it’s very hard to move forward,” he added.
EXPO 2020:
UAE and India have already started talking about EXPO 2020.
“A team is going from the UAE to India to make some presentations and for us to finalise the location for EXPO 2020. We expect those decisions are going to be taken in coming weeks,” Suri said.
“It is our endeavour as the embassy that the Indian participation in EXPO 2020 should reflect the spirit of our relationship the rising stature of India, and the presence of Indian community in the UAE,” Suri added.
