India seeks big investments from UAE: Piyush Goyal

Dubai: India is aiming for larger investments - both foreign direct investment (FDI) and foreign institutional investment (FII) - from the UAE as both countries have reset their targets and are actively working to increase investments, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday.

Infrastructure, data centres, technology, banking, startups, logistics, and green energy are the sectors where the UAE is keen to invest in India. "The UAE has become a hub attracting investments and businesses from around the world, as well as a hub of activity for Africa, the Middle East, and Central Europe. India would like to leverage that hub," Goyal said.

"Given the work that has happened in India, the strong economy that we are now sitting in... UAE recognises that India is an opportunity not to be missed. Therefore I think we will be looking at much larger pools of capital coming into India, both FDI and FII," he added. "The UAE-India Strategic Partnership is strong. There is a mutual commitment towards deeper engagement, big business, large investments and further effort to expand our relations at the political, diplomatic, economic, and people-to-people levels," Goyal said after co-chairing the UAE-India Business Council (UIBC) Roundtable with Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Foreign Trade, UAE.

Investment and expansion opportunities of UAE companies in India were discussed at length in manufacturing, infrastructure, and technology. "We have reset our targets and are actively working to grow investments rapidly in different sectors. We're looking at collaborating with the UAE in renewable energy, shipbuilding and logistics, pharmaceuticals, retail, and many other business sectors," he said, adding that bankers are finding it increasingly attractive to expand their operations in India.

"One banker who met me is very keen to set up a new operation in GIFT City," he added. "While the UAE is already among the top 5-6 investors in India, my sense is that we can look at a much larger investment flow, given the work that has happened in India."

The focus areas of the India-UAE partnership include pharmaceuticals, textiles, leather and footwear, fisheries, finance, and technology.

The two sides also discussed potential third-country joint projects, including major infrastructure investments. "There are many ways in which we can collaborate... their strength in investments is unparalleled. The ability to write big investment amounts into projects, either in India or in third countries, is immense," Goyal said.

India and the UAE aim to double bilateral non-oil and non-precious metal trade to $100 billion in the next three to four years.

Bharat Mart

Goyal said that over 9,000 companies have expressed interest in joining Bharat Mart. Construction is expected to begin later this year, with operations commencing by early 2027. "I think this will be the beginning of many more such initiatives across the world to support our MSMEs, or very small micro companies or businesspersons, to become exporters around the world," he said.

FTA, IMEC

Goyal said that India is in the advanced stages of negotiating a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Oman and is open to similar partnerships with other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. "Some of the other countries have expressed interest, but we'll be talking to them. And if we finalise it, we get confidence that it will be good for the Indian economy. Surely we are open to future agreements with some of the other GCC countries," he added.

(The correspondent is in Dubai at the invitation of the commerce and industry ministry)