The 10th edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit was held on January 10 to January 12 and one of the significant highlights of the event this year was participation of the UAE President as Chief Guest. Commenting on his present, PM Narendra Modi himself said that presence of the UAE president is of great joy for India and Vibrant Gujarat Summit is a symbol of the ever-strengthening relations between India and UAE.

Trade relations between India and UAE has long been remained encouraging and with the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the two countries signed in 2022, it is expected that bilateral trade between the countries will reach a new height. Both the sides have set a target of $100 billion for bilateral trade which was reiterated during the 'UAE India Business Summit' at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit.

It is good news that India and the UAE have decided to promote RuPay and facilitate direct trade between the Indian rupee and the UAE dirham. During the summit, the two sides discussed collaborative efforts, such as the India-Middle East-Europe economic corridor. During the event, Commerce Minister Goyal invited UAE investors to participate in India’s growth story and capitalise on India’s demographic advantage.

Non-oil India-UAE trade has reached US$50 billion between May 2022 and April 2023 and this signals to the fact that the target of $100 billion in non-oil trade between the two countries by 2030 is quite possible. The UAE has locational advantage as well as trade expertise and it seems that the country’s increasing willingness to forge its own role in global affairs fits well with its ever strengthening win-win relations with India.

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