India, UAE trade to hit $100 billion by 2020: CII

Trade between India and the UAE is set to hit $100 billion by 2020, up from the current $60 billion, the Confederation of Indian Industry has said.

"This is evident in the growing interest by the Indian companies towards the Middle East markets and in particular the UAE and efforts made by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry and CII to further strengthen the trade and investment ties," Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said in a statement released here.

Currently, the trade between Indian and the UAE is estimated around $60 billion, it said.

The statement was issued on the sidelines of the Middle East Electricity Exhibition where about 50 leading Indian companies are participating.

The exhibition, which opened here yesterday, displayed a wide variety of electrical products and instruments ranging from cables to conductors, capacitors, transformers and switchgear products.

CII together with Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India has arranged to showcase Indian industry participation at the event.

Hosted by the UAE Ministry of Energy and based in Dubai, Middle East Electricity is the largest international trade event for the power industry, covering the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, the renewable and nuclear energy sectors and the lighting industry.

The various initiatives taken by the Government of India and the announcements made in the recent Budget 2017 shall certainly enhance industries competitiveness in the country and in particular the MSMEs, the statement said.

"The step towards reducing the corporate tax rate for small companies will have a positive impact on the viability of around 97 per cent (67 lakh) businesses in India. As the MSMEs become more viable and sustainable, the overall attractiveness of the small businesses will increase leading to the positive orientation and entrepreneurship in the country is bound to grow," CII said.