UAE and India to sign new investment treaty

Reuters/ANI

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan are to sign a bilateral investment treaty (Bit) during the former’s visit to the emirate this month.

The UAE is India’s third-largest source of foreign direct investment and the seventh-largest trade partner.

The Indian government cleared the treaty on February 1, after which the UAE became the only country with which India has a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (Cepa) and Bit, Hindustan Times, an Indian news outlet, reported. 

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The treaty will help promote investments between the two countries and improve investors’ confidence, especially large ones.

Countries like South Korea, Japan and Singapore have a Cepa with India but no Bit.

Modi will inaugurate the Baps Hindu Mandir, a traditional Hindu place of worship located in Abu Dhabi, and address the World Governments Summit, the report said.

The India-UAE bilateral investment will pave the way for the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Mubadala Investment Fund, sovereign wealth funds, to invest in big-ticket projects in India.

India has been buying crude from the UAE on a local currency basis, with the state-backed petrochemicals major Gail recently signing an agreement with Adnoc Gas, a division of the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), to purchase 0.5 million metric tonnes of natural gas from the emirates.