OCTOBER 2, 2021
Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said that India and the United Arab Emirates have decided to set up a joint task force which will be a common platform for continuous dialogue to raise new opportunities for collaboration between the two countries. Goyal was addressing a press conference on the sidelines of Dubai Expo 2020.
The ninth meeting of the UAE-India High-Level Joint Task Force on Investment was held on Saturday. It discussed the ongoing efforts to strengthen the Bilateral Investment Treaty and concluded that the process is being fastracked.
The leaders reviewed the progress towards a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between India and the UAE and felt that the progress was on track, according to Goyal.
Addressing the press, Goyal said he has invited Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, member of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, to India.
Goyal further said that the response from the UAE government and investors has been phenomenal and such is the enthusiasm that India may have to gear up to match the speed with which they come up with ideas.
“Two to three big investors whom I met, deeply appreciated the fact that now doing business in India is clean and honest. They said that now they don’t have to worry about extraneous considerations and that is the biggest attraction,” said Goyal in Dubai.
“I am gratified to see the confidence that the UAE government and investors have in the political leadership in India, in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s approach to problem-solving, promoting the country and systemic resolution of issues,” he added.
Responding to questions about UAE companies which ran into legal troubles a few years ago, Goyal said that the promoters were not right and the due diligence could have been better. “What happened was the cost of learning,” he remarked.
