• The Founding Father, Sheikh Zayed, during a visit to the Taj Mahal in Agra, India, in 1975. Photo: National Archives
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    Pooja Singh, Nilam ghorpade and Monika Sharma during Diwali celebrations at the India pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai. Victor Besa/The National

Ties and trade between India and UAE are centuries old


James Langton
  • English
  • Arabic

Hundreds, probably thousands, of years before the late Sheikh Zayed made the first state visit to India by a UAE President in 1975 there was trade between the two countries.

Goods like spices and cloth were shipped in dhows across the Arabian Sea in one direction, while coveted pearls sailed in exchange from the emirates of the Arabian Gulf.

Today, those trading links continue to thrive, although the ranges of goods - and services - and the way they are moved, are infinitely greater and more diverse.

The Indian government calculates trade between the two countries, which stood at US$180 million annually in the 1970s, is now worth a staggering $59 billion. And the recent Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the two is only going to enhance that more.

The UAE is now India’s third-largest trading partner, behind only the economic giants of China and the United States.

In the opposite direction, India is the second-largest trading partner for the UAE, worth US$41 billion, excluding oil.

Those enormous sums only tell part of the story. Over many centuries this exchange can be measured not just in the value of goods but in the cultural and social impact it brought.

Dr Zulekha Daud, 82, chairwoman of the Zulekha Healthcare Group. Reem Mohammed / The National
Dr Zulekha Daud, 82, chairwoman of the Zulekha Healthcare Group. Reem Mohammed / The National

Older Emiratis will remember the Gulf rupee, the currency of the Gulf and the seven emirates until the mid 1960s, which replaced the even older Indian rupee for all transactions in the region.

Today, more than three million Indians live and work in the UAE, by far the largest group of foreign residents. Some have lived here for several generations, building business and families.

They are bankers, accountants and doctors, but also engineers, electricians and carpenters. Their labour has helped build many, if not most, of the country's great infrastructure projects, from the Dubai Metro to Louvre Abu Dhabi.

Indians came to Abu Dhabi and Dubai in growing numbers from the 1960s onwards, drawn by the economic boom that followed the discovery of oil.

Companies founded by Indian entrepreneurs in the UAE include Lulu, Jumbo Electronics, Jashanmal, Ajmal Perfumes and Joyalukkas Jewellery. It has made several of their creators billionaires.

This is a relationship that can also be measured in terms of human as well as economic capital. There is the example of Dr Zulekha Daud, the daughter of a construction worker, who built a network of hospitals, clinics and pharmacies in a 50-year relationship with the UAE.

To an estimated 10,000 Emiratis, though, she is known simply as “Mama Zulekha” for delivering them as babies in her role as a midwife.

Then there is Sunny Varkey, born in Kerala but largely raised in Dubai, who founded the hugely successful GEMS education network of schools in the UAE and abroad, and whose Varkey foundation supports the US$1m Global Teacher Prize.

They are just two examples of many of the thriving relationships between the UAE and India. But not everything needs to be measured in household names or millions of dollars.

Taxi drivers, waiters and labourers alike come to work in the UAE knowing their hard work can create a better life for families back home in India.

India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, in Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in 2015. Kamran Jebreili / AP Photo
India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, in Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in 2015. Kamran Jebreili / AP Photo

Both governments recognise the value and depth of these ties.

In addition to the 1975 visit, Sheikh Zayed travelled to India in 1992, while Indian presidents have come to the UAE in 1976, 2003 and 2010.

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi has visited the UAE three times, most recently in August 2019, while other senior politicians and leaders have regularly travelled between the two countries,

Recent years have seen a strengthening of the bilateral relationship between the UAE and India, with a series of deals on everything from cyber security and agriculture to human trafficking and energy.

Again, these ties are more than just economic. When Mr Modi addressed the Indian community and Dubai Opera House during his visit in 2018, he was able to announce the first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi.

When Kerala was hit by disastrous floods in 2018, Emiratis and the UAE government were quick to support with aid. “The people of Kerala have always been and are still part of our success story in the UAE. We have a special responsibility to help and support those affected,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, wrote on Twitter.

In reply, Mr Modi wrote that Sheikh Mohammed’s concern “reflects the special ties between governments and people of India and UAE".

In the future, the ties between the two countries can only draw them closer - perhaps literally. One concept under consideration is a 2,000-kilometre undersea rail tunnel linking Mumbai and the UAE with high-speed trains that will make the journey in just two hours.

UAE and India's trade deal - in pictures

  • Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, takes part in a virtual summit with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photo: Hamad Al Kaabi / Ministry of Presidential Affairs
    Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, takes part in a virtual summit with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photo: Hamad Al Kaabi / Ministry of Presidential Affairs
  • The virtual summit between Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photo: Abdullah Al Neyadi / Ministry of Presidential Affairs
    The virtual summit between Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photo: Abdullah Al Neyadi / Ministry of Presidential Affairs
  • Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, take part in the virtual summit. Photo: Abdullah Al Neyadi / Ministry of Presidential Affairs
    Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, take part in the virtual summit. Photo: Abdullah Al Neyadi / Ministry of Presidential Affairs
  • Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, at the summit in which the UAE and India signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. Photo: Hamad Al Kaabi / Ministry of Presidential Affairs
    Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, at the summit in which the UAE and India signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. Photo: Hamad Al Kaabi / Ministry of Presidential Affairs
  • Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, at the summit. The agreement is expected to boost non-oil trade between the UAE and India from $60 billion at present to $100 billion within five years. Photo: Hamad Al Kaabi / Ministry of Presidential Affairs
    Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, at the summit. The agreement is expected to boost non-oil trade between the UAE and India from $60 billion at present to $100 billion within five years. Photo: Hamad Al Kaabi / Ministry of Presidential Affairs
  • Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, at the virtual summit with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photo: Abdullah Al Neyadi / Ministry of Presidential Affairs
    Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, at the virtual summit with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photo: Abdullah Al Neyadi / Ministry of Presidential Affairs
Company%20profile
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Company Profile

Company name: Fine Diner

Started: March, 2020

Co-founders: Sami Elayan, Saed Elayan and Zaid Azzouka

Based: Dubai

Industry: Technology and food delivery

Initial investment: Dh75,000

Investor: Dtec Startupbootcamp

Future plan: Looking to raise $400,000

Total sales: Over 1,000 deliveries in three months

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Updated: February 19, 2022, 8:21 AM