UAE business delegation to visit Mumbai to boost economic ties

DUBAI: In a bid to strengthen economic ties with India, a UAE business delegation will visit Mumbai for four days to open up new areas for greater commercial engagement in trade and investment.

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) delegation will arrive on Monday to highlight internationally recognised platforms for stimulating trade and investment.

"Dubai needs little introduction to India, but the continued evolution of DIFC is opening the door to new markets and fresh opportunities for the Indian economy and its burgeoning private sector," said Arif Amiri, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the DIFC Authority.

"The scale of our growth strategy shows that the opportunities for India are vast. We are confident that this visit will open up new areas of potential collaboration between the financial capitals of Dubai and Mumbai," he said.

DIFC representatives will promote to Indian investors and the wider Indian financial sector the stability, efficiency and world-class regulation offered by an advanced business ecosystem located at the heart of the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, a vast economic area with an estimated combined GDP of $7.9 trillion.

Bilateral trade between India and the UAE crossed $59 billion for the financial year 2014-2015.

Indian exports to the UAE, its top export destination, are valued at $33 billion.

UAE-based NRIs account for $15 billion in annual remittances, own more than 40,000 UAE companies and hold investments worth an estimated $55 billion, including as much as $18 billion in real estate.

DIFC aims to increase its assets under management to $250 billion from current $10.4 billion, host 1,000 financial services firms and grow its balance sheet from $65 billion to $400 billion.