A leading Emirati minister has called on Indian entrepreneurs and business leaders to continue to embrace the UAE as a "gateway to new opportunities around the world" at a major gathering celebrating the long-standing ties between the nations.
Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, emphasised the importance of building on the firm foundations in place between the key trading partners in an address made to hundreds of Indian business chiefs, academics, heads of technology start-ups and founders of non-government groups on Tuesday, the second day of the Indiaspora Forum for Good in Abu Dhabi.
He told of how Indian ingenuity had been instrumental in the rise of the UAE and said its spirit of enterprise would be pivotal to further growth.
“There is no doubt that India and its global diaspora are at the forefront of the new economy,” Dr Al Zeyoudi said. “The UAE continues to benefit from the diaspora just as we have since our early days as a nation.”
Success stories
More than 4 million Indians call the UAE their home, have set up thousands of companies across diverse sectors from manufacturing, retail, property to media.
Dr Al Zeyoudi said there were many Indians among the more than 6,700 millionaires who moved to the UAE last year who would leave a huge impact on the country.
“Many of our most impressive, enterprising, entrepreneurial success stories have been started by Indian business leaders from the ground up,” he said. “We really hope Indian-owned enterprises will continue to see the UAE not only as a hub but as a key gateway to new opportunities around the world.
“It’s clear that the energy and the ambition of the Indian diaspora will be instrumental to unlock this potential.”
Trade ties boost enduring friendship
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The Founding Father, Sheikh Zayed, during a visit to the Taj Mahal in Agra, India, in 1975. Photo: National Archives -
A gulf rupee, the currency of the Gulf until the mid 1960s. Amy Leang / The National -
People visit the Joyalukkas Jewellery shop in Bur Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National -
Dr Zulekha Daud, chairwoman of the Zulekha Healthcare Group. Reem Mohammed / The National -
Sunny Varkey, founder and chairman of GEMS Education. Philip Cheung / Abu Dhabi Media Company -
Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, at the unveiling of the Abu Dhabi Hindu temple model in 2018. Photo: BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha -
Pooja Singh, Nilam ghorpade and Monika Sharma during Diwali celebrations at the India pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai. Victor Besa/The National
The UAE signed its first Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (Cepa) with India in 2022, following which bilateral trade has surged past $85 billion, making India the largest trading partner of the UAE and the Emirates the third-largest trading partner for India.
“When we launched our Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, India was the first country we approached,” the minister said. “India was not just the obvious choice, it was our first choice and the fact is we concluded the agreement in just 88 days.”
India and the UAE are also part of landmark initiatives including the India Middle East Europe Economic corridor by building a ship-rail network to secure supply chains and benefit countries on the transcontinental trade route.
Dr Al Zeyoudi said India's rich history and philosophy were the inspiration for the next generation of leaders.
He described the day’s final session theme ‘The sky is the limit: We can do anything together', as a powerful call to action for people of Indian origin and asked them to continue to enrich the countries they had made their home.
“This is a moment for the Indian diaspora to connect, engage with each other, but it also applies to the nations to which you all contribute so much,” he said. “By working closely with the public and private sector here in the UAE, we can unlock even greater success. We are more than happy to extend our full support to any expansion plans and look forward to partner this year with many of you.”
Taking the side of peace
As the world’s fifth-largest economy, India is increasingly exerting an active role in global issues, committed to strengthening multilateral co-operation and contributing to deepening co-operation with the Global South.
Former officials speaking at the conference spoke of India’s ambition to bring balance to a fractured world as the voice of the South working for the common good.
“Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi has already made it very clear that we believe that this is not an era of war, that we are on the side of peace,” said Harsh Shringla, former foreign secretary of India.
“He invested time to go and meet both [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin and [Ukrainian] President {Volodymyr] Zelenskyy in an effort to bring peace.”
India held the presidency of the G20 two years ago and is a founder member of the Brics bloc of developing economies that includes Brazil, Russia and China and now also features the UAE.
During India’s G20 presidency, Mr Modi announced the African Union as a permanent member and also invited the UAE as a special guest of India to the G20 Leaders’ Summit in 2023.
“With our [India’s] moral authority, ideological balance today we are in a happy position … we straddle that ideological space between North and South, East and West,” Mr Shringla said.
“India is well placed to bring balance into the global order, and contribute in a positive way to bring about peace, tolerance, harmony and coexistence in the world.”
Mr Shringla also touched on the country’s philosophy of vasudhaiva kutumbakam, a Sanskrit phrase that means ‘the world is one family’, to make the world a better place for all.
“In the earlier days, we waited for others to take the initiative … like the US, the UK, China. But today the difference is we have proactive leadership, driven foreign policy. We deeply believe in vasudhaiva kutumbakam – the world as one family.”
The Indiaspora non-government organisation that organised the conference was founded 13 years ago and aimed to link global leaders of Indian origin to be changemakers.
“Our mission is to be a force for good in society,” said Sanjeev Joshipura, executive director of the Indiaspora. “We genuinely do believe that entrepreneurship can be and is a force for good. This shines a spotlight on the global capacity of the Indian diaspora and leaders in India, to give back. We serve as a platform where these collaborations can occur.”
