India-UAE Partnership: A new era of economic synergy and shared values

Economic diversification is at the heart of India and the UAE’s growth driven goals. While India is uninhibitedly expanding into the realms of services, technology and start-ups, the UAE is curating a knowledge-based economy, investing in tourism, logistics, finance, and renewable energy.

Honouring India’s Independence Day, we look at how India and the UAE are uniquely different yet share values and hopes to build an exhilarating future. Both nations are committed towards bringing in a paradigm shift through digital governance. While India backs the Digital India initiative and rapid fintech adoption, the UAE is positioning itself as a global digital leader with Smart Dubai strategies and e-governance services.

The India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), implemented in May 2022, transformed bilateral relations and amplified trade, investment, and innovation. Within three years of signing the agreement, bilateral trade surged from $50 billion in 2021 to $85 billion in 2024. Tariff reductions on more than 80 per cent goods bolstered Indian exports in gems and jewellery (by more than 25 per cent), pharmaceuticals, and agriculture, while the UAE’s petroleum, aluminium, and polymer exports to India soared significantly.

Furthermore, the integration of UPI (Unified Payments Interface) from India with AANI (Arab Monetary Fund’s Buna platform or the UAE’s domestic payment systems) enables INR-AED transactions and has a catalytic effect on financial inclusion, trade, remittances, and digital innovation between India and the UAE.

Projects like Bharat Mart in Dubai offer a warehousing and retail hub for Indian SMEs and exporters enabling direct access to the MENA markets. The strategic trade corridor, India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), accentuates trade efficiency, and facilitates faster movement of goods.

India and the UAE have showcased a unified stance as collaborative leaders playing a substantial part in the evolving global economic order. India and the UAE, unequivocally exemplify a synergy built on shared values and shared future that is bound to have a ripple effect on the global economic momentum.