Dubai | Abu Dhabi

Indian expatriate community of approximately 3.4 million is the largest ethnic community in UAE constituting roughly about 35 per cent of the country’s population. 15% of the diaspora is in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the rest in 6 Northern Emirates including Dubai.

Growing India-UAE economic and commercial relations contribute to the stability and strength of a rapidly diversifying and deepening strategic partnership between the two countries. Both sides are striving to further strengthen these ties for mutual benefits. India-UAE trade, valued at US$ 180 million per annum in the 1970s, reached US$ 85 billion in 2022-23 making UAE, India’s third largest trading partner for the year 2022-23 after China and US. Moreover, UAE is the second largest export destination of India (after the US) with an amount of nearly US$ 31.61 billion for the year 2022-23.

The United Arab Emirates is a country in the Middle East that borders the Gulfs of Oman and the Persian Gulf. It is strategically located along the southern approaches to the Strait of Hormuz, a transit point for world crude oil. India and the UAE established diplomatic relations in 1972. While the UAE opened its Embassy in India in 1972, the Indian Embassy in the UAE opened in 1973.

The UAE’s investment in India is estimated to be around US$ 20-21 billion of which US 15.5 billion is in the form of FDI while the remaining is portfolio investment between April 2000-March 2023. In 2022-2023, UAE was the 4th biggest FDI investor for India. UAE has committed to invest US$ 75 billion in India’s infrastructure sector over a period of time. Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), the principal Sovereign Wealth Fund of the UAE and one of the world’s largest, is an anchor investor in NIIF Master Fund through an investment of US$ 1 billion in National Infrastructure Investment Fund (NIIF). ADIA has also invested US$ 1.8 billion in HDFC Affordable Housing, USD 500 million in two renewable energy companies and US$ 300 million in Cube Highways. ADIA has also announced the opening of its office in GIFT City in Gujarat. Since 2020, GoI has announced several measures to facilitate and further ease investments by ADIA and other sovereign funds from the UAE.

India’s exports to the UAE are well diversified with a large basket. India’s major export items to the UAE are: Petroleum Products, Precious Metals, Stones, Gems & Jewellery, Minerals, Food Items (Cereals, Sugar, Fruits & Vegetables, Tea, Meat, and Seafood), Textiles (Garments, Apparel, Synthetic fibre, Cotton, Yarn) and Engineering & Machinery Products and Chemicals. India’s major import items from the UAE are: Petroleum and Petroleum Products, Precious Metals, Stones, Gems & Jewellery, Minerals, Chemicals, Wood & Wood Products. UAE is the 4th largest source for crude oil and 2nd largest source for LNG and LPG for India.