DUBAI: Terming India as a “shining star”, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has invited businessmen in the UAE to invest in India and take advantage of investment opportunities being provided by the growing economy.
“The environment is favourable for investors to look at India. India is a shining star from among all the global economies with nearly 7.2 per cent growth rate, which is far higher than many economies can imagine. Even the Chinese economy is slowing down,” said Sitharaman, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry.
She said that the government has undertaken a number of steps to curb red tape and increase the ease of doing business with less paper work and online transactions.
“By June this year, 98 steps have been taken by all the state governments so that the ease of doing business is enhanced. We shall make ease of doing business a simple online mission so that paper work is reduced,” she said.
Sitharaman concluded a two-day visit to the UAE yesterday where she met senior UAE officials including Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Managing Director of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi said in a statement.
On 12 October, Sitharaman called on Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and had a bilateral meeting with Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of UAE, it said.
The bilateral trade between India and the UAE stands at USD 60 billion for the year 2014-15. India is the UAE’s second largest trading partner and the UAE is India’s third largest trading partner after China and the US.
The two countries are planning to increase trade by 60 per cent in the next five years, and have set up an investment fund of USD 75 billion to invest in Indian infrastructure mainly in roads, ports and railways.
