Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh on Monday invited Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and Mubadala, U.A.E.'s top investors in India, to explore new sectors for investing in the country, especially the renewable and digital sectors.

The U.A.E. is currently the seventh largest investor in India with an estimated investment of $18 billion.

Singh met the U.A.E.'s Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeoudi and jointly inaugurated the events to commemorate the first anniversary of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and the U.A.E.

Speaking at the event, Singh highlighted how the 'path-breaking' India-U.A.E. CEPA, which was negotiated in just 88 days, has become a significant turning point in the bilateral economic relations between the two countries.

For India, the CEPA with U.A.E. is the first in the region and for the U.A.E., it is their first-ever CEPA. Since CEPA came into force, bilateral trade between India and U.A.E. has witnessed tremendous growth of 20% when compared to the previous year. India's exports to the U.A.E. also recorded a remarkable growth of 12%, reaching $31.3 billion in 2022-2023, said Singh.

Fortune India last week reported that India's top gainers from the CEPA are petroleum fuels and by-products (36% growth – from $6.2 billion in 2021-22 to $8.4 billion in 2022-23), electrical machinery and equipment (32% growth – from $2.8 billion to $3.7 billion), gems and jewellery (17% from $4.9 billion to $5.7 billion), machinery and mechanical appliances (19% from $ 0.9 billion to $ 1.1 billion) and automobiles (42% from 0.5 billion to 0.7 billion). Cereals, essential oils, coffee, tea, spices, vegetables, chemical products etc also benefited from the CEPA. Iron and steel, apparel and clothing accessories were among the goods that did not perform as expected during the last year. On the import front, the maximum gainers were products like mineral fuels, natural or cultured pearls, precious or semi-precious stones, jewellery, plastic items, iron and steel, etc.

DPIIT secretary will inaugurate the International Jewellery Exposition Centre in Dubai today. He is also attending a multi-sectoral business-to-business event in Dubai organised by the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), in which around 100 companies from India and the U.A.E., including representatives of various Export Promotion Councils (EPCs) are expected to participate.

In a separate development, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) on Monday prohibited imports of apples under ₹50 per kilogram, providing relief to farmers in Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh who were facing tough competition from apple imports from Iran, Turkey and Italy among others. These restrictions are not applicable to imports from Bhutan.

Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement

India wants ADIA, Mubadala to invest in renewable and digital sectors