India and the United Arab Emirates have announced a historic deal to take the bilateral trade of both countries to $100 billion, with non-oil and non-precious metal trade. Both countries plan to take their trade to $100 billion in the next three years, marking a major shift in the global economy. The decision was unveiled during the 13th India-UAE High-Level Task Force on Investments in Abu Dhabi, where Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal led the Indian delegation.
This move comes after both countries achieved tremendous success under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement or CEPA, which had a target of achieving $100 billion in bilateral trade in 5 years. However, it was achieved in just three years. India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, said, “You’ll be pleased to know that the goal we set at the time of the CEPA … was to achieve $100 billion in bilateral trade. Last year, we achieved $100 billion in just three years.”
However, oil and precious metals accounted for a significant portion of the bilateral trade conducted between the countries. However, both nations are now looking at diversifying into new sectors, including textiles, leather, fisheries, food processing, and pharmaceuticals. “We’ve set a new goal today: both teams will work on achieving USD 100 billion in non-oil, non-precious metals trade,” Minister Goyal noted. He further added that there is “no competition between our two countries. We support each other,” highlighting the collaborative spirit of the partnership.
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This deal is expected to open many more gates for Indian exporters, especially in the face of the US tariffs and the global supply chain and trade uncertainty. That being said, infrastructure, quality standards, and logistics will need to be scaled to new heights in order to meet this ambitious goal.
