PM Narendra Modi UAE visit to help attract funds to infra sector: CII

New Delhi, Aug 14: Anticipating positive outcomes from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the UAE on August 16-17, CII on Friday said the visit will help attract more funds from the Gulf nation into India's infrastructure sector.

"The strong India-UAE trade relationship has translated into multi-pronged investment flows from India to the UAE. CII believes that Prime Minister's visit would help attract more funds from the UAE into India's infrastructure sector".

He pointed out that Indian companies have emerged as important investors in the UAE and the country is India's second largest export destination. There are more than 450 flights per week between India and the UAE.

The two countries also benefit from a large population of Indian origin working in the UAE. "The cumulative value of Emirati investment in India is around USD 8 billion while Indian investment in the UAE is estimated to be around USD 55 billion. We hope that the Prime Minister's visit would result in measures to correct the imbalance," Banerjee pointed out.

The industry body said that UAE investments in India can be facilitated by setting up Special Purpose Vehicles in sectors such as semiconductors, renewable energy, and infrastructure development.

It also recommended that the two countries consider a Refinery–Petrochemical-Fertilizer complex exclusively using Emirati crude.

CII also stated that TAQA, the Abu Dhabi-based international energy and water company which is the largest private operator of hydroelectric plants in India, as also Etihad through its investment in Jet Airways could act as torchbearers for expanding investment from the UAE into India.

The chamber suggested that the two countries could also cooperate in space exploration, and India, which sent a successful mission to Mars last year, can partner in the UAE's Al Amal project for a similar mission to the Red Planet.

With the UAE transforming itself into a knowledge-based economy and given India's leadership in key sectors such as ICT, biotechnology, drugs and pharmaceuticals among others, there are strong synergies between the two economies, it said.

According to CII, there exists enormous potential for Indian companies to step up their engagement in areas like infrastructure, ICT, and food processing in the UAE.

During 2014-15, the bilateral trade between India and UAE stood at USD 59.04 billion. Between April 2000 and May 2015, USD 3.09 billion has come from UAE.

PTI