The Department of Commerce, in association with the Indian Embassy in the United Arab Emirates, is taking a series of measures such as organizing buyer-seller meetings and encouraging states to organize road shows there to improve use of the free trade agreement between the countries, a senior official said. Friday.
The deal, which was implemented in May, has helped boost Indian exports to the UAE.
India’s exports to the UAE increased by 12.5% to $12.67 billion between June and October 2022. Imports during the period increased by 21% to $22.2 billion of dollars, the department’s joint secretary, Srikar Reddy, told reporters.
He said dedicated efforts are underway to publicize the deal.
Sectors such as electrical machinery and equipment, gems and jewelry, grains, chemicals, automobiles, coffee, tea and spices are seeing healthy export growth after the implementation of the agreement commercial, added Reddy.
He said the department, in association with the Indian Mission in the UAE, is organizing a series of trade promotion events specific to the CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement) in the UAE.
Speaking at the press conference, India’s Ambassador to the UAE, Sunjay Sudhir, said states were encouraged to hold roadshows to places like Dubai.
Uttar Pradesh plans to put on a show in the middle of next month, he said, adding that several buyer-seller meetings have been organized for different export sectors like engineering, gemstones and jewellery.
“We are also trying to build a virtual transit corridor” to smooth the movement of Indian goods through Dubai and Abu Dhabi to third countries, as these are important transit points.
“It’s being actively explored by both sides and we hope to see some sort of agreement on this soon. There’s a lot of interest from both sides,” Sudhir said.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Ministry said in a statement that India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have agreed to expedite the conclusion of the legal and technical requirements required for the formal resumption of negotiations of the free trade agreement (FTA).
“Both sides stressed that the FTA will create new jobs, raise living standards and provide wider social and economic opportunities in India and all GCC countries,” he said.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Nayef Falah M. Al-Hajraf, Secretary General of the GCC, announced on Thursday their intention to continue negotiations on the India-GCC FTA.
It can be noted that the GCC is currently India’s largest bloc of trading partners. Bilateral trade in 2021-2022 was valued at over USD 154 billion, with exports valued at USD 44 billion and imports at USD 110 billion.
GCC countries contribute almost 35% of India’s oil imports and 70% of its gas imports.
India’s total crude oil imports from the GCC in 2021-22 were around USD 48 billion, while LNG and LPG imports in 2021-22 were around USD 21 billion. GCC investments in India are currently valued at over $18 billion.