Dubai Investment Development Agency (Dubai FDI), the investment arm of Dubai Economy (DED) recently led a team of more that 80 of Dubai’s leading business entities to India in a move to improve economic and investment ties.

The event was organized by key partner Musthafa & Almana. The delegation held seminars and meetings in Bengaluru and Chennai, in line with Dubai FDI’s investment promotion mission aimed at strengthening economic and investment collaboration with strategic cities around the world.

India is one of UAE’s strongest economic partners with huge investments from both parties. In 2018, Indian investors have accumulated 31 FDI projects launched in Dubai with a total of Dh3.71 billion ($1 billion) in capital. This makes India the second largest investor in Dubai in terms of FDI capital and the fourth largest in terms of projects during the first nine months of the year.

Ibrahim Hussain Ahli, director of Investment Promotion Department, Dubai FDI, said: “Dubai maintains a steady and long-standing trade and economic relations with India, especially in booming cities such as Bengaluru and Chennai.

“Visiting these major economic hubs is part of our continuing efforts to promote other sectors where investing partners can explore new growth opportunities and how to effectively take advantage of them in an easy and facilitative manner, especially with the upcoming Expo 2020, the robust property market, and the growing prominence of the emirate as a global hub conducive for startups and entrepreneurs.”

Ahli added: “India’s investment performance in Dubai is reflective of its sustained interest and confidence in the emirate’s capability to provide a business environment that will allow for its capital to grow and expand to other leading markets. We are confident that this visit will further boost India’s leading position as a major investor in Dubai.”

Khalid Sharaf, head of International Business Engagement at Expo 2020 Dubai, said: “The UAE has a long and rich history of partnership and friendship with India. For decades, the UAE’s economic, political and cultural links with India have matured and are multi-dimensional.

“We are incredibly excited to welcome India’s social and business community to the UAE in 2020 and to continue building on this fruitful relationship. This will be the first World Expo ever hosted in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region. More than 25 million visits are expected, and 70 per cent of visitors are projected to come from abroad – India being a key market.”

He added: “The recent Dubai FDI delegation visit provided Expo 2020 with a unique opportunity to meet with some of India’s leading businesses to encourage further foreign direct investment from India. Through a series of seminars, we were able to present Expo 2020 Dubai to this important audience, share our latest plans and discuss new areas of collaboration in the lead up to 2020 and beyond.

“Our theme of ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’, provides a global platform to encourage creativity and innovation, and this mission can only be achieved through strategic planning and working hand in hand with countries such as India.”

Some of the key topics discussed during the seminars include themes such as: ‘Dubai Advantage’, ‘Legally Dubai’, ‘Shaping the Future of World Trade’, ‘Expo 2020 and Beyond: An Investor Perspective’, ‘The Real State of Real Estate in Dubai’, ‘Startups Ecosystem in Dubai’, and ‘Startups in India Scale Up in Dubai’.

Foreign direct investments (FDI) from India to Dubai from 2015 to 2018 has reached a total of Dh6.12 billion FDI capital in a total of 109 projects, based on the latest data released by the Dubai FDI Monitor. From Bengaluru, there are a total of nine FDI projects with Dh22.6 million FDI capital since 2015. Chennai has three FDI projects in Dubai with a total investment of Dh34.2 million. – TradeArabia News Service