India-UAE Sign MoUs to Boost Trade, Education, and Infrastructure
In a significant step towards deepening economic cooperation, India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed a series of key agreements during the visit of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the UAE. The visit marked a new chapter in the bilateral relationship, reinforcing collaboration across trade, education, healthcare, and infrastructure.
One of the highlights of the pacts was the declaration of the first international campus of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) in Dubai, and the first MBA programme is planned to be started in September 2025. Concurrently, the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) will also establish its first international campus at the India Pavilion in Expo City Dubai. These advances highlight a close educational alliance and place Dubai at the center for top Indian educational institutions in the region.
These educational efforts are complementing the earlier launch of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) campus in Abu Dhabi, which was the first IIT footprint in the Middle East. The initiative is anticipated to benefit the large Indian expatriate population in the region, such as the 4.3 million Indians in the UAE and almost 9 million in the Gulf.
Further strengthening business relationships, the two nations announced plans for the development of Bharat Mart, a Dubai trading complex. A 3-D image of the complex was unveiled during the visit. Work on the Virtual Trade Corridor (VTC) and the MAITRI digital interface intended to facilitate the VTC was also announced. These plans reaffirm India's resolve to deepen trade and investment linkages with the UAE and are part of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC).
India's Ministry of External Affairs stressed that bilateral trade is likely to exceed $97 billion, with the new initiatives set to further spur this growth and support ongoing efforts in reaching the non-oil trade target of $100 billion. These agreements come after the successful rollout of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which already spurred the growth of trade between the two countries.
In a move that recognizes the role of Indian workers in the development of the UAE, the Dubai government has reserved land for the construction of a 100-bed 'India-UAE Friendship Hospital'. The hospital will offer low-cost healthcare services mainly to the blue-collar Indian expatriate community. The action also identifies India's status as a medical tourism destination, with several Emiratis, including royal family members, having long depended on Indian medical professionals.
In the maritime sector, Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) signed an MoU with Drydocks World (DDW), a subsidiary of DP World, to develop ship-repair clusters at Kochi, Kerala, and Vadinar, Gujarat. This partnership is expected to bring in global best practices and enhance capacities in India's ship-repair ecosystem. The MoU also opens doors for collaboration on offshore fabrication and partnerships with major ports, providing a major boost to India's shipbuilding and repair infrastructure.
Strengthening investment ties, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce declared the opening of its first-ever India Office. The office will be crucial in aiding business connections and assisting Indian businesses seeking to grow in Dubai. Indian enterprises continue to dominate the non-UAE company listings in Dubai and play a significant role across sectors such as hospitality, tourism, healthcare, retail, and education. Indian businesses have 30-40 percent of all businesses registered in Dubai, including its Free Zones, according to official statistics.
The high-level visit also included a business summit in Mumbai, where Sheikh Hamdan sat down with India's Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal. The leaders discussed the implementation of CEPA and its positive effects on bilateral trade. Goyal praised the signing of several MoUs and welcomed the announcements, saying that the increasing partnership between India and the UAE will touch new heights in the coming years.
These strategic steps signify a major enhancement of the India-UAE economic corridor and betoken a vision of shared, long-term, inclusive, and sustainable growth.
