New Delhi, Feb 23 (FN Bureau) Joint Secretary, Dept of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India Srikar K Reddy on Wednesday said that India expected to achieve its export target of USD 400 billion by end of March 2022. Participating an interactive meeting on India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) : Opportunities and Way Forward, organised by the Federation of Telangana Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FTCCI), Dr Reddy said for India, UAE is the 3rd largest trading partner – Bilateral trade of USD 59 billion in FY2019-20 and 2nd largest export destination – Exports of USD 29 billion for FY2019-20. He said UAE is the 9th largest investor in India with an FDI of USD 11.38 billion for the period April 2000-June 2021. UAE also pledged to invest around USD 75 billion in India in various sectors. India-UAE CEPA is a full and deep agreement covering all aspects of bilateral economic cooperation.
Negotiations were held in physical and virtual mode and concluded in record time of around 3 months (88 days). During 2019-20, India exported USD 2,932.34 million to UAE and imported USD 6,086.40 million services from UAE. UAE is the 9th and 4th largest export and import market for India respectively in trade in Services, Dr Reddy said and added that out of which, Gold exports are valued at USD 3,008.76 million while other direct exports are USD 3,518.96 million, Dr Reddy added. K Bhasker Reddy, President, FTCCI said this is a landmark trade pact that will propel the two friendly nations forward towards a magnificent, shared destiny. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is India’s third-largest trading partner and second-largest export destination. We are confident that CEPA will open up many new avenues of collaborations and will benefit businesses from both countries and beyond as UAE is a key gateway to the Middle East and Africa. Several members of FTCCI from the sectors, such as gems and jewelry, leather, plastic products, agriculture products, medical devices, pharmaceutical products, and automobiles are actively engaged and doing business with UAE, a statement here said.