India, UAE to sign five pacts on trade, investment

New Delhi, Mar 26: India and the UAE will sign five pacts here today on expanding cooperation in trade and investment, official sources said.

The pacts including three Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs), a Protocol and an Agreement will be signed here this evening after talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and visiting Dubai ruler Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is also Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE.

The Dubai ruler who arrived here yesterday on a two-day official visit, was given a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan this morning. He later called on UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi at her residence.

The pacts to be signed are : Protocol amending the agreement for avoidance of double taxation and Agreement on a framework for industrial cooperation.

The three MOUs include on Technical cooperation in accreditation between the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology and the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories, Technical cooperation between Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology and on Assistance and mutual cooperation between Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority (ESCA) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

The Dubai ruler will also meet External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha L K Advani.

In the evening he will call on President A P J Abdul Kalam which will be followed by talks with the Prime Minister on various bilateral, regional and internation issues including the Middle East Peace Process (MEPP).

The sources said India has emerged as Dubai's largest export destination. Bilateral trade was 10.9 billion US Dollars as compared to 2.5 billion Dollars in 2002.

In 2005-06, total exports from India to Dubai were worth 6.4 billion dollars.

UNI