UAE open for business, Sheikha Lubna tells India Gulf Partnership Summit in Dubai

Speaking at the opening session of the FICCI-IIFA Global Business Forum being held as part of the ongoing Tiara Residence International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Weekend in Dubai, Sheikha Lubna also praised the age-old ties between the two nations and said the UAE is always open for business to India.

"Our country is young and growing rapidly, thanks to the leadership of our rulers and thanks to the burgeoning private sector," she said. "Of our 26 percent GDP growth last year, more than 60 percent was non-oil based, and 50 percent came from the service sector."

Private sector investment and diversification, she added, form the recipe for a more prosperous future for both nations, including diversification into media and entertainment services.

"Film is not just about glamour and glitz but also about economic growth," Sheikha Lubna said, alluding to the Mumbai film industry being the largest employer in that city.

Organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), this morning's summit session was also attended by Indian Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Suresh Pachauri, FICCI President Saroj Kumar Poddar, former UAE ambassador to India H.E. Mirza Al Sayegh and a number of other high-ranking dignitaries in addition to several hundreds businessmen.

FICCI President Poddar congratulated the UAE on its unparalleled growth, and said the apex body of Indian business wanted to use the forum to achieve a quantum leap in investment and development ties between the two nations.

"India and the UAE must partner to create the new Asian century," Poddar said. "The political leadership in both our countries have created the perfect conditions for rapid economic growth, an opportunity we should use to our mutual benefit and development."

Suresh Pachauri, Indian Minister of State for Parliament Affairs, thanked His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, and HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, for providing the million-strong Indian population of the emirates with a home away from home.

"The UAE and India are friends and trading partners of two millennia, and our relationship is an enduring one," Pachauri said. "Trade and commercial relationships have flowered in recent decades, and Dubai alone is home to more than 6,000 Indian businessmen with many more exploring the hospitable investment environment the UAE offers."

Although the UAE is India's second-largest trading partner after the US, and despite sizable UAE forays in India from Emaar, DP World, Dubai Aluminium and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, he said, the size of UAE investment in India falls far short of its potential.

"There is a lot more than can be done in this context, and we are determined to work towards that goal via bilateral meetings such as this one," Pachauri said. "The UAE is emerging as an economic powerhouse in this region, and we hope it will take a closer look at opportunities in India."

He also thanked the UAE for supporting India's quest for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.

H.E. Mirza Al Sayegh, director of HH Sheikh Hamdan's private office, paid tribute to the many Indian businessmen and women who contribute to the UAE's growth.

"Wherever I go in the world, there are two questions I am most often asked: What is the secret behind the UAE's growth, and where are we going from here," he said. "The secret behind the UAE's growth and development are those sitting in this hall, those who have come all this way and made the Emirates their second home, those who have participated in and contributed to this country in the last century."

On the second question, Al Sayegh said there is no limit for growth and development in the UAE.
Other opening session speakers included Indian MP and actress Shabana Azmi, Indian Ambassador to the UAE C M Bhandari and Indian Consul General Yash Sinha.

The FICCI-IIFA Global Business Forum continued into the evening, with special sessions on Strategic Investment Opportunities, India-Gulf Synergies in Media and Entertainment and Health Tourism.