India remains UAE’s top trading partner: APCCIF VC

Visakhapatnam: The Sharjah Airport International Free Zone offers many opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors from India, said Director of Business Development for Sharjah Airport International Free Zone (SAIF) Raed Bukhatir. He further stated that the increasing pace of trade between the UAE and India is a positive sign of rapid growth at all levels.

Addressing a meeting on ‘International Business Forum-Expanding globally with SAIF zone’ organised by the Federation of Indian Exporters Organisation (FIEO) in association with Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry Federation, Raed Bukhatir  said that SAIF also houses 8,500 establishments from 165 countries is a gateway connecting the emerging markets in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

On the occasion, M Sudhir, Vice-Chairman, Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry Federation, said that the signing of MoU between India and UAE is a defining move in further boosting bilateral trade and will facilitate development of joint projects, knowledge sharing and technology transfer.

India is the third largest trading partner of UAE and the two way trade has reached $ 53 billion in 2017. Indians have long emerged as important investors within the UAE and India as an important export destination for the UAE for manufactured goods, Sudhir said.

India remains the UAE’s top trading partner, with the value of trade exchange to hit $100 billion by 2020.  As the UAE creates a diversified economy beyond oil, however, India’s potential to emerge as the fastest-growing large economy fits in perfectly with mutual economic goals and ambitions, he added.

Welcoming the participants, Jitin Warrier, Business Development Officer, SAIF Zone, gave an insight into the investment opportunities in SAIF region. He asked to take advantage of benefits like single day licence issuance, tax and duty exemptions like zero per cent corporate and personal tax, 100 per cent repatriation of capital and profits, no currencies restrictions and 100 per cent import and export exemption and multiple licence facilities and easy access to billion of consumers.