Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s expansive geopolitical and geo-economic outreach appears to be yielding the benefits for the world’s fifth biggest economy. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is reportedly considering investing as much as $50 billion in India as part of its broader bet on India’s rising economic potential.
According to a report in Bloomberg, the UAE could announce these investments into India next year, coinciding with the General Elections in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to seek a third term in office.
The term of India’s Lok Sabha, the lower house of Indian parliament directly elected by the people, is set to end in May 2024.
The new set of investments would follow Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meetings with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed.
India-UAE ties
New Delhi and Abu Dhabi aim to increase the non-oil bilateral trade to $100 billion. A total of 2.8 million Indian citizens live in the UAE.
Modi’s recent visit to Abu Dhabi marked his fifth trip to the West Asian nation since he took over as prime minister in 2014.
The last Indian premier to visit the UAE before him was Indira Gandhi in 1981.
What the new investment deals will be about
The Bloomberg report said that the deals being discussed include stakes in key Indian infrastructure projects and state-owned assets.
Some of the investments could involve sovereign wealth funds such as the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Mubadala Investment Co. and ADQ, the publication cited its sources as saying.
India since long has been described as a prized economy in the United Arab Emirates due to a rising middle class seeking to diversify away from other investment destinations such as Europe.
The UAE’s plan is a further indicator of the government’s push to position itself as a country that avoids taking sides in a world increasingly split between Washington and Beijing.
(With inputs from agencies)
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