India - UAE Bilateral Relationship #upsc #uae #india Current affairs

India - UAE Bilateral Relationship
The 14th India-UAE Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) was co-chaired by EAM Jaishankar and UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdulla bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi.

• The two countries agreed to intensify economic cooperation in a range of areas while reiterating commitment to achieving the goal of $100 billion of bilateral trade in the next five years.Bilateral Relationship between India & UAE

(i) Political relations

• India and the UAE established diplomatic relations in 1972. Since then, their relationship has grown manifold. In January 2017, India and UAE signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement. The strong bilateral relations have received impetus from time-to-time with exchange of high-level visits from both sides.

. In February 2019, UAE invited India as the "Guest of Honour" to address the Inaugural Plenary 46th Session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

• PM Modi paid his third visit to the UAE in August 2019. He was awarded the highest civilian award of the UAE called 'Order of Zayed'.

• The Crown Prince of UAE visited India for the second time in January 2017 as the Chief Guest at India's Republic Day celebrations.

• The foundation stone laying ceremony for the first traditional Hindu Temple in Abu Dhabi was held in April 2019.In February 2022, PM Modi and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan held a Virtual Summit. Both the leaders issued a Joint Vision Statement - "Advancing the India and UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership: New Frontiers, New Milestone".

(ii) Trade Relation

• The UAE was India's second-biggest goods export market until FY20, behind only the US. China pipped it in FY21 when the pandemic caused severe disruptions in trade.

• The UAE is currently India's third-largest trading partner with bilateral trade in FY20 valued at $59 billion.

• The UAE is also India's second-largest export destination after the US (approximately $29 billion in FY20).(iii) Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and UAE

In September 2021, both the countries started negotiations for a mutually-beneficial CEPA.

• India-UAE CEPA was signed in February 2022 in New Delhi during the India-UAE Virtual Summit. In March 2022, India announced the unveiling of the CEPA with the UAE.

Coverage: It covers almost all the tariff lines dealt in by India

(11,908 tariff lines) and the UAE (7581 tariff lines)

• Preferential access to goods: CEPA provides for an institutional mechanism to encourage and improve trade between the two countries. India will benefit from preferential market access provided by the UAE on over 97% of its tariff lines which account for 99% of Indian exports to the UAE in value terms. India will also be offering preferential access to the UAE on over 90% of its tariff lines, including lines of export interest to the UAE.
Trade in Services: India has offered market access to the UAE in around 100 sub-sectors. On the other hand, Indian service providers will have access to around 111 sub-sectors from the 11 broad service sectors. Both sides have also agreed to a separate Annex on Pharmaceuticals to facilitate access of Indian pharmaceuticals products. For the first time, there is a separate section of pharma to facilitate the export of Indian generic medicines.

(iv) Investment

• The UAE is the eighth-largest investor in India, having invested $11 billion between April 2000 and March 2021.

• Investment by Indian companies in the UAE is estimated to be over $85 billion.

(v) NRI Remittances

• The annual remittances made by the large Indian community in UAE (estimated to be around 3.3 million) amount to US$ 17.56 billion for the year 2018.
।
।