Partnership between India, Gulf countries multi-faceted, Indian industry must explore investment opportunities: Joint Secretary - Gulf

New Delhi [India], August 27 : Aseem R Mahajan, Joint Secretary - Gulf, Ministry of External Affairs, on Tuesday emphasized that the cultural and bilateral relations between India and the Gulf countries are strong and the partnership with the Gulf countries is multi-faceted.
The trade and investment ties in sectors like energy, defense, security, and health are growing in the region.
"The GCC contributes to 15 per cent of India's total trade. Last year, our trade stood at USD 162 billion. While the overall trade keeps fluctuating, India's exports to this region continued to increase last year," he added.
Addressing the 'India MENA Business Dialogue: Bridging Economics, Fostering Growth', organized by FICCI, Mahajan stated that India exports various food processing, jewelry, synthetic fibers and yarns, textiles, pharmaceuticals and engineering goods, and chemical products.
"Many of these areas are areas of huge potential," he asserted, as per a FICCI release.
He further highlighted that India signed the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in 2022 and subsequently the trade has grown with them.
"We have a very broad-based institutional framework in place with these countries," noted Mahajan.
Citing the example of the few pioneering initiatives that the Indian government is undertaking, Mahajan said that the connectivity between the two payment platforms, the UPI system where we have advanced stages of connecting the RuPay and the JAYWAN card (UAE) is in process.
"We also have an agreement on the local currency settlement system in Dirham and UPI in which transactions are happening. Similarly, we are discussing the initiative of UPI with other countries as well," he added.
Education and connectivity, he said, are another emerging area with immense potential to foster relations between India and the Gulf countries.
"The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor has many elements, multi-modal linkages, along with a digital pathway," he added.
Speaking on the investment opportunities, Mahajan said that the Sovereign Wealth Funds of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, and Kuwait are all looking at investment opportunities in India.
"We are looking at many diverse areas. Infrastructure, hydrocarbons, renewable energy, food processing, technology, health, hospitality, tourism, many of these areas have potential where industry can build fruitful joint ventures and partnerships," he added.
Sunjay Sudhir, Indian Ambassador to UAE said that in the realm of technology and innovation, GCC has emerged as an important hub for innovation, with countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia leading the charge.
"The future holds immense potential for deeper cooperation in emerging sectors such as AI, healthcare, and space technology, reflecting the mutual aspirations for prosperity and sustainable development," he added.
The Ambassador further stated that India and the GCC collaborate on a range of global issues such as climate change, sustainable development goals, and multilateralism.
"Our collaboration at international forums like the United Nations, G20, and COP reflect our shared commitment to global peace and security. Today, GCC is the largest trading regional block of India, contributing to about one-sixth of India's total trade," he added.
Amit Narang, Indian Ambassador to Oman while addressing virtually said that India considers Oman as one of its key partners in the region and the bilateral trade has seen robust growth in the last few years.
"There is a lot of potential for direct shipping to reduce the cost of this bilateral trade, and that will have a significant impact in further improving our trade figures. India plays a very important role in ensuring the food security of Oman. Food and agro products, while the numbers are large, I believe the potential for increasing our exports remains quite large as well," he added.
Narang further stated that on an institutional level, the discussions for a bilateral CEPA with Oman are at an advanced stage. "We hope to conclude these discussions early, and once this is done, this will be a significant push to bilateral, not just trade, but also bilateral investment ties," he emphasized.
Suhel Ajaz Khan, Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia said that India's trade relationship with the GCC has been driven by the energy requirements.
There are immense opportunities and synergies for deepening our relationships between India and Saudi Arabia, especially in the domain of mutual interests.
"Saudi Arabia has embarked on the journey of economic transformation and diversification of its economy as part of the Vision 2030. As the economy transforms, it will open up opportunities in various sectors including construction, mining, technology, renewable energy, automobiles, tourism, and manufacturing. The Kingdom also wants to become a hub for logistics and connectivity capitalizing on its unique geography and infrastructure," he added, as per the FICCI release.
Adeeb Ahamed, Chairman, of FICCI Middle East Council, and MD, of LULU Holding Financials said that pursuing a Free Trade Agreement between India and the GCC holds immense promise for both regions.
"Additionally, initiatives like the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) represent significant opportunities for enhanced connectivity and economic cooperation," he added.
Ashish Paul, Vice President - Corporate Affairs, ITC Ltd; PS Jayaraman, (Chairman- TCI Sanmar Chemicals SAE); Ranjeet Gupta, Founder and CEO, Ocior Power; Sanjiv Padman, Sr Manager -Business Development, Business Gateways International LLC also shared their perspective during the India MENA Business Dialogue.