New Delhi: India and UAE have stepped up work on the proposed India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).
During the visit of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, HH Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to India, two business-related outcomes were agreed upon in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Two sides agreed on launching of work on the India-UAE virtual trade corridor (VTC) and MAITRI interface to facilitate VTC under the framework agreement between India and the UAE on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC), the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
About VTC and MAITRI
The Virtual Trade Corridor (VTC) will be an integral part of IMEEC. Benefits of VTC include reduction of administrative processes and time, reduction of logistics and transport costs, and enhancing ease of doing business.
MAITRI is a Master Application for International Trade and Regulatory Interface that integrates multiple Indian operational portals to facilitate interfacing with UAE portals. It optimises efficiencies, leverages technologies, eases regulatory compliance, streamlines operations and enhances transparency. MAITRI is also scalable, secure, unified and credible.
What is IMEEC
IMEEC (India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor) is an ambitious infrastructure project which will define global connectivity in the decades to come. Following the announcement of the project in G20 summit in Delhi last September, India and the UAE took a lead in February this year when an Inter-Governmental Framework Agreement to implement IMEEC was signed during PM Narendra Modi's visit to Abu Dhabi.
The second MoU was signed between International Resources Holding RSC LTD and consortium of Oil India Ltd, Khanij Bidesh India Ltd and ONGC India Ltd towards global collaboration in Critical Mineral Supply Chain. The MoU provides for cooperation in critical minerals exploration in third countries. It will help boost the supply chain resilience of critical minerals. Critical minerals are key to powering the 21st-century digital economy, the MEA noted.
India-UAE trade and investment partnership
India-UAE trade, reached US$ 84 billion in 2023-24 making UAE, India's third largest trading partner after China and US. Moreover, UAE is the second largest export destination of India (after the US) with an amount of nearly US$ 36 billion for the year 2023-24.
The UAE’s investment in India between 2000- 2023 is estimated to be around US$ 20-21 billion of which US 18.5 billion is in the form of FDI while the remaining is portfolio investment. In 2023-2024, UAE is the 6th biggest FDI investor into India. UAE has also committed to invest US$ 75 billion in India’s infrastructure sector over a period of time.
