Dubai
UAE-India ties will continue to gain strategic momentum during the second term of Indian Prime Minister Narendera Modi, said Dr Azad Moopen, Founder Chairman and Managing Director, Aster DM Healthcare.
Over the last five years, Dr Moopen said, Modi has emerged as one of the few Indian prime ministers who has taken considerable efforts to fortify India’s positioning as an economic super power by strengthening bi-lateral ties with leading nations across the world.
Dr Moopen added that cross-border investment and trade is expected to cross $100 billion (Dh367 billion) by 2020 with many UAE companies set to expand their bases in India. Indian investors are now encouraged to further expand their investments in UAE with the introduction of new visa rules, permanent residency like Gold Card and 10-year visas.
“One of Modi-ji’s remarkable achievements has been to build a connect with millions of Indians located across the globe, along with strengthening ties with the government of the respective countries. This was a significant step towards bolstering welfare of the NRI [Non-Resident Indian] community globally. In UAE, we have one of the largest Indian expat communities in the world, estimated at 3.3 million people,” Dr Moopen said.
“As an Indian businessman operating in UAE for more than three decades, I have been actively involved in nurturing relationship between India and UAE. Aster DM Healthcare has played a key role in strengthening the health care delivery model in UAE over the years, starting in 1987 when secondary and tertiary care was still in its primitive stage.”
He added that “our total investment in India is around 2,000 crores (Rs20 billion; Dh1.05 billion), which makes us one of the largest NRI investors in India”.
