India and the UAE on Wednesday signed a Bilateral Investment Treaty to promote investments in the two countries across different sectors. The treaty was one of the ten agreements signed during PM Narendra Modi’s visit to the Gulf country on 13 and 14 February, during which he inaugurated a Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi and attended the World Government Summit 2024 in Dubai.
Bilateral Investment Treaty
The two sides signed a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), taking forward the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) which was signed on 1 May 2022. Mentioning that India is UAE’s second-largest trading partner, with bilateral trade in 2022-23 standing at $85 billion, the leaders expressed optimism about elevating bilateral trade to $100 billion, much ahead of the 2030 target.
Today I met with Indian Prime Minister @narendramodi in Abu Dhabi, where we discussed ways to advance bilateral ties across diverse fields such as economy, investment, trade, energy, and technology. The UAE and India are united by our shared keenness to develop the bilateral… pic.twitter.com/a7jQoVAZxy
— محمد بن زايد (@MohamedBinZayed) February 13, 2024
The two sides said that BIT and CEPA reflect “the uniqueness and depth of the bilateral economic engagement between the two countries.” They also formally unveiled the UAE-India CEPA Council (UICC).
Intergovernmental Framework for IMEEC
An MoU was signed to create an intergovernmental framework for the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC). It entails creating and administering a logistics platform to facilitate IMEEC, encompassing a digital ecosystem and the supply chain services necessary to handle various forms of general cargo, bulk, containers, and liquid bulk.
Additionally, the two sides announced that a Bharat Mart would be created at the Jebel Ali port in order to promote bilateral trade. The mart would support micro, small and medium sector enterprises from India by giving them a platform to reach out to buyers in the Middle East, Africa and Eurasia.
Earlier today, @HHShkMohd and I laid the foundation stone for Bharat Mart in Jebel Ali. This will boost India-UAE economic linkages and will particularly help our MSMEs to explore global markets. pic.twitter.com/4YZyAkBAJp
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 14, 2024
Linking Digital Payment Platforms, Domestic Cards
An agreement was signed to interlink the instant payment platforms, India’s Unified Payment Interface (UPI) and UAE’s AANI, to facilitate cross-border transactions between the two countries. The two countries also decided to link India’s RuPay cards with UAE’s domestic card scheme, JAYWAN.
Additionally, an MoU was inked between the Indian Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology and the UAE’s Ministry of Investment in the digital infrastructure sector to collaboratively study, appraise, and evaluate investment collaboration in the area. Its objective is to investigate and assess the viability of developing data centre projects and a supercomputer cluster in India.
MoU in Electricity Interconnection and Trade
The two leaders acknowledged the MoU finalised on electricity interconnection and trade, which will open new areas of energy cooperation between the two nations.
Agreements were also signed between the Gujarat Maritime Board and Abu Dhabi Ports Company, as well as RITES and the Abu Dhabi Sports Authority. Furthermore, a pact was made between the national archives of the two countries. Lastly, an agreement was signed to develop the National Maritime Heritage Complex at Lothal in Gujarat closely.