India Trade Fair Opens In Dubai

The show, which will continue till December 11, will be inaugurated by a senior member of Dubais ruling family, India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) chairman Kaushal Kumar Mathur said.

During his stay here, Ramaiah will also attend a meeting with non-resident Indian (NRI) businessmen organised by the Indian Association.

He will leave in the night for Singapore for a meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Nearly 200 companies, including some of the biggest names in Indian industry, are participating in the exhibition, designed to project Indias technological capabilities, Mathur told reporters.

Some states like Punjab, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh are also taking part in the show.

 

The first exclusive India fair was held here in September 1994, but this years event is twice as large, occupying an exhibition area of 9,000 square metres.

More than 140 companies had participated in the 1994 show, which generated spot business worth more than $57 million.

Besides, 32 agency agreements and three joint ventures were said to have been finalised during the event.

That fair was a runaway success and prompted us to put up an expanded and more comprehensive range of products this time, Mathur said.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is Indias sixth largest export destination.

Two-way trade between the two countries is around $3 billion.

India has emerged as the third largest supplier of goods to Dubai in the first half of 1996.

Indias exports to Dubai were put at $1.127 billion in 1995, when it had finished fifth in the list of top exporters to the Emirate.

In 1995, Indias exports of machinery and parts to Dubai grew by 157 per cent over the 1994 figures. Mathur said the exhibition was aimed at boosting Indias exports of non-traditional items to this region and would provide exposure for several products making their debut in this area.

The products at the exhibition are also state-of-the-art items, many produced in collaboration with some of the best manufacturers ofthe world, he said.

Products on display include Maruti Suzuki salon cars, Leyland-Iveco trucks, Tata buses and trucks and Mahindra four-wheel drives. The exhibition will feature a wide range of motorcycles, scooters and mopeds and underline the fact that India is the largest manufacturer of two-wheelers in the world.

The Kirloskar group will be exhibiting electric motors, generators, pneumatic tools and aids.

Escorts and Bharat Earth Movers Ltd are displaying excavators, bulldozers and cranes, many of which are already in use in this region.

Other items will incude steel, cement, building materials, electrical and electronic equipment, automobile parts and chemicals.

Consumer products will include processed and canned food, rice, handicrafts, furnishings, garments, kitchen appliances, television sets, clocks, watches, electric fans and sanitary fittings.The service sector will be present in strength with exhibitors from the financial, airline, banking, research, tourism and telecommunication sectors.

We want not only to boost our exports to this region but also project the right image of India, Mathur said.

He said efforts had been made to depict the changes that had come about in Indian industry after the liberalisation of the economy. We have taken special pains to show products which not only have immediate relevance to trade but also indicate the capabilities of India.

A lot of quality products will be shown, he said. Mathur said the ITPO had set up seven theme areas at the exhibitionautomobiles, two-wheelers, automobile components, electrical and electronic equipment, construction equipment, textiles and garments and handicrafts.

He said the exhibition is aimed at the entire West Asia-North Africa region and also countries beyond, given the fact that Dubai is a major re-export centre.

Everyone recognises Dubais importance as a re-export centre and we expect a large number of visitors from these countries, he said.

Alongside the exhibition, ITPO has also organised a fashion show here tonight featuring designer Ritu Kumars tree of life collection.

This is the first time a complete collection of one of Indias best known designers will be shown in the UAE, Mathur said.