The UAE has signalled its intent to invest an additional $25 billion in India in the near future as the two countries seek to deepen investment ties and expand the use of local currencies in bilateral trade, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday.
The UAE has already invested about $25 billion in India and is the country’s seventh-largest source of foreign direct investment. Goyal said the proposed investment could take the UAE’s total investments in India to $50 billion in the near term, with an eventual target of $100 billion.
The investment interest spans ports, shipbuilding, space technology, startups and Indian stock markets, Goyal said in Mumbai after co-chairing the 14th meeting of the India-UAE High-Level Joint Task Force on Investments with Abu Dhabi Investment Authority Managing Director Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
“The UAE has indicated its intent to invest another $25 billion in the near future,” Goyal said, adding that the discussions reflected “strong investment interest” across several sectors.
The two sides also reviewed progress made by their central banks on local-currency settlement, integration of payment and messaging systems, and central-bank digital currencies, according to a statement issued after the meeting.
Goyal said local-currency settlement of bilateral trade was “picking up” and had reached double-digit levels.
Under the mechanism, Indian exporters receive payments in rupees, while imports from the UAE can be paid for in dirhams, reducing the need to route bilateral transactions through the US dollar.
Goyal said surplus holdings of the other country’s currency could be converted into US dollars after three to six months. The arrangement provides a mechanism to manage currency balances while enabling direct settlement of trade in the two national currencies.
The two sides also discussed investment and cooperation in logistics, energy, taxation, market access and fintech, along with space technology, modern ports, shipbuilding, food security, agri-technology, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.
The investment push comes as bilateral trade has doubled to around $100 billion since the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) came into force four years ago. The two countries have now set a target of doubling bilateral trade further to $200 billion by 2032, Goyal said.
Recent UAE investments in India include Emirates NBD’s acquisition of a 60% controlling stake in RBL Bank for about $2.75 billion and Abu Dhabi-based International Holding Company’s $1-billion investment for a 41.5% stake in Sammaan Capital.
The two sides also discussed civil aviation cooperation to improve air connectivity and support broader economic ties. They explored investment opportunities and collaboration in developing an aviation and logistics hub at Dholera in Gujarat, the statement said.