UAE to invest another $25B in India, says Piyush Goyal
What's the story
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced its plan to invest an additional $25 billion in India. This move is expected to strengthen the energy cooperation between the two nations. The announcement was made by India's Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal after the 14th India-UAE Investment Task Force meeting in Mumbai on Monday.
Investment plans
UAE's investment plans in India
The UAE has already invested $25 billion in India and is looking to invest another $25 billion soon.
The ultimate goal is to increase UAE investments in India to $100 billion, Goyal said.
This comes amid the ongoing West Asia crisis and highlights the strong economic ties between the two countries.
Energy collaboration
Energy cooperation between India and UAE
India and the UAE are exploring deeper energy cooperation, including strategic petroleum reserves, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), and subsea gas pipelines.
"UAE being a trusted partner. We are working with them on building bridges for energy security," Goyal said.
The two countries are also looking at greater UAE investment in India's strategic petroleum reserves as part of these efforts.
Gas supply
India's efforts to secure energy amid global challenges
India is also considering the UAE as a potential major source of LPG and LNG.
The country is looking into the possibility of subsea pipelines to transport and store gas in India.
These discussions are part of India's efforts to bolster energy resilience and security amid global challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ukraine war, and the ongoing West Asia crisis.
Trade goals
Bilateral trade between India and UAE
India and the UAE have doubled their bilateral trade to $100 billion and aim to increase it to $200 billion by 2032.
Goyal said local currency settlement between the two countries is also on the rise, currently in double digits.
He highlighted how quickly India and the UAE negotiated their trade agreement, calling it "the fastest-ever negotiated free trade agreement."
Export targets
India's target for goods and services exports this year
Goyal also revealed that India is targeting $1 trillion in goods and services exports this year, up from last year's record of $863 billion.
He said merchandise exports have grown by over 15% in the first six months of the year until September 21.
The two countries are also looking to expand cooperation in areas like energy security, logistics, and AI as their trade relationship grows.