Bilateral trade between India and the UAE has increased 30 per cent in the eight months since the countries implemented the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (Cepa) in May, according to Sunjay Sudhir, India’s ambassador to the UAE.
The countries are already on course to achieving $88 billion worth of trade in this financial year, he said on Tuesday, while speaking at the India-UAE Partnership Summit in Dubai on Tuesday.
Food security and gems and jewellery are the industries that have gained the most since India and the UAE signed the Cepa in February last year, Piyush Goyal, India’s minister of commerce and industry, said virtually at the event.
The two countries also have attractive and complementary start-up ecosystems, the minister said.
A “golden era” in entrepreneurship is emerging at Indian states and cities such as Bengaluru, Mumbai and New Delhi, and the UAE’s business hubs of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, he added.
“Complementarities are waiting to be further leveraged. We can surpass the rather modest targets set to increase bilateral merchandise trade to $100 billion in five years, which is about twice the pre-pandemic levels, and increase services trade to at least $15 billion in the next five years,” Mr Goyal said.
In 2022, the UAE signed its first Cepa with India, the world’s fastest-growing economy, which helped propel bilateral trade to $38.6 billion in the first nine months of 2022 — almost double the figure recorded in the same period of 2020.
The Cepa came into effect on May 1. The benefits of Cepa include enhanced market access, lower or eliminated tariff rules, simpler customs procedures, clear and transparent rules and rule-based competition.
The agreement is expected to boost non-oil trade between the two countries to $100 billion in five years from $60 billion in 2021.
As part of the agreement, 80 per cent of tariffs on Indian and UAE goods have been removed, with plans to lift all tariffs within 10 years to boost trade between the countries, said Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, the UAE's Minister of State for Foreign Trade.
The deal, which is a part of the UAE's strategy to boost trade, is also expected to add 1.7 per cent, or $8.9 billion, to the country's gross domestic product and boost exports by 1.5 per cent, or $7.6 billion, by 2030.
The UAE is India's third-biggest trading partner, while the South Asian nation is the Emirates’ second-largest trading partner.
India hopes to see its exports touch $1 trillion in the near to medium term, Mr Goyal said.
“Our growing bilateral trade will play an integral role in the UAE’s efforts to double the size of its economy by 2030,” he added.
Areas of co-operation between India and the UAE include the rupee-dirham trade, virtual trade corridor, food corridor and start-ups, the minister said.
Textiles, green energy, wind and solar energy, connectivity, ports, airports, roads, waste management and desalination are among other opportunities where the countries can work together, he added.
“There are also opportunities to work together in the financial sphere, such as in equities, bonds, debentures, mutual funds and real estate investment trusts. We will see concrete progress on all these fronts,” he said.
The Cepa has imparted a “new energy” to bilateral economic engagement in terms of both trade and investment, the Indian ambassador said.
Trade in the agriculture sector has also benefited from the Cepa pact, according to Mr Sudhir.
Thriving relationship between the UAE and India - in pictures
The Cepa will help open doors for Indian companies to come to the UAE, Mohammad Lootah, president and chief executive of Dubai Chambers, said.
“Dubai Chambers will add value to that. Our ‘Dubai Global’ initiative aims to open 50 offices globally by 2030. This will expand the Indian companies’ trade network,” he said.
Gold and food manufacturing are currently the leading trade sectors between India and the UAE, Mr Lootah said. Vertical growth is possible in these industries, he added.
Dubai Chambers would like to concentrate on technology-related sectors, he said.
About 83,000 Indian companies are registered with Dubai Chambers. More than 30 per cent of the start-up community in Dubai is represented by Indians.
Indian companies and NRI-based entities have generated one million jobs in the UAE, Mr Lootah said.
The UAE's Ministry of Economy unveiled a new web page dedicated to Cepa in April, which provides information to companies and investors in the UAE who wish to capitalise on the benefits provided by the agreement.
The portal provides detailed information on all 18 chapters of Cepa and lists simple steps that companies in the UAE can adopt to forge or expand their business relationship with and ease their entry into the Indian market.
The ministry said a team of experts have been appointed to respond to enquiries from the private sector and investors, including from the Abu Dhabi and Dubai Chambers and the Department of Economy and Tourism.
Walls
Louis Tomlinson
3 out of 5 stars
(Syco Music/Arista Records)
TWISTERS
Director: Lee Isaac Chung
Starring: Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos
Rating: 2.5/5
ICC T20 Team of 2021
Jos Buttler, Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, David Miller, Tabraiz Shamsi, Josh Hazlewood, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mustafizur Rahman, Shaheen Afridi
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
US PGA Championship in numbers
1 Joost Luiten produced a memorable hole in one at the par-three fourth in the first round.
2 To date, the only two players to win the PGA Championship after winning the week before are Rory McIlroy (2014 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational) and Tiger Woods (2007, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational). Hideki Matsuyama or Chris Stroud could have made it three.
3 Number of seasons without a major for McIlroy, who finished in a tie for 22nd.
4 Louis Oosthuizen has now finished second in all four of the game's major championships.
5 In the fifth hole of the final round, McIlroy holed his longest putt of the week - from 16ft 8in - for birdie.
6 For the sixth successive year, play was disrupted by bad weather with a delay of one hour and 43 minutes on Friday.
7 Seven under par (64) was the best round of the week, shot by Matsuyama and Francesco Molinari on Day 2.
8 Number of shots taken by Jason Day on the 18th hole in round three after a risky recovery shot backfired.
9 Jon Rahm's age in months the last time Phil Mickelson missed the cut in the US PGA, in 1995.
10 Jimmy Walker's opening round as defending champion was a 10-over-par 81.
11 The par-four 11th coincidentally ranked as the 11th hardest hole overall with a scoring average of 4.192.
12 Paul Casey was a combined 12 under par for his first round in this year's majors.
13 The average world ranking of the last 13 PGA winners before this week was 25. Kevin Kisner began the week ranked 25th.
14 The world ranking of Justin Thomas before his victory.
15 Of the top 15 players after 54 holes, only Oosthuizen had previously won a major.
16 The par-four 16th marks the start of Quail Hollow's so-called "Green Mile" of finishing holes, some of the toughest in golf.
17 The first round scoring average of the last 17 major champions was 67.2. Kisner and Thorbjorn Olesen shot 67 on day one at Quail Hollow.
18 For the first time in 18 majors, the eventual winner was over par after round one (Thomas shot 73).
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
FULL%20FIGHT%20CARD
%3Cp%3EFeatherweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Abdullah%20Al%20Qahtani%20v%20Taha%20Bendaoud%0D%3Cbr%3EBantamweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Ali%20Taleb%20v%20Nawras%20Abzakh%0D%3Cbr%3EBantamweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Xavier%20Alaoui%20v%20Rachid%20El%20Hazoume%0D%3Cbr%3EFeatherweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Islam%20Reda%20v%20Adam%20Meskini%0D%3Cbr%3EBantamweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Tariq%20Ismail%20v%20Jalal%20Al%20Daaja%0D%3Cbr%3EBantamweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Elias%20Boudegzdame%20v%20Hassan%20Mandour%0D%3Cbr%3EAmateur%20Female%20Atomweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Hattan%20Al%20Saif%20v%20Nada%20Faheem%0D%3Cbr%3EFeatherweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Maraoune%20Bellagouit%20v%20Motaz%20Askar%0D%3Cbr%3EFeatherweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Ahmed%20Tarek%20v%20Abdelrahman%20Alhyasat%0D%3Cbr%3EShowcase%20Featherweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Mido%20Mohamed%20v%20Yazeed%20Hasanain%0D%3Cbr%3EShowcase%20Flyweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Malik%20Basahel%20v%20Harsh%20Pandya%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
