India’s 70th Independence Day comes at a landmark stage in the country’s relations with the UAE. The trade balance between the two nations for the financial year 2015-16 might shrink by nearly $11 billion (about Dh40.4 billion), but this is expected to be a mere hiccup amidst larger global economic factors, and the countries are making great strides to stimulate growth. This forms part of a bigger strategy to increase bilateral cooperation.
Embassy data cites the Indian Department of Commerce (DoC) projecting trade between India and the UAE to fall by almost 16 per cent to $49.72 billion over 2014-15, likely due to lower oil prices. Indian exports are expected to total $30.3 billion. Jewellery including pearls, precious or semi-precious stones and metals are showing positive growth to $12.95 billion, contributing the biggest share. This is followed by the mineral fuels sector, which is down to $3.97 billion. Imports from the UAE are expected to contract from $26.13 billion to about $19.42 billion. The oil sector shows the biggest decrease at $7.89 billion from $13.5 billion.
