UAE reviews steps to strengthen business environment in India

The UAE reviewed the steps it has taken so far to further promote entrepreneurship environment and highlight opportunities of building economic and business partnerships that support small and medium entrepreneurs, SME, to penetrate into new markets at regional and international levels.

This came during the panel discussion on the UAE, themed "Global Partnership Opportunities for SME in the UAE," which was held within the activities of the 13th sessions of SME World Summit in New Delhi, India.

The event was addressed by Abdullah Al Saleh, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Economy for Foreign Trade Affairs and Industry; Dr. Ahmed Abdul Rahman Al-Banna, UAE Ambassador to India; Ahmed Al Falahi, Commercial Attache of the UAE Embassy to India, Mohamed Al Yousifi, Director of National Programme for SME, and Milan K. Nag, Co-Chairman, CII National SME Council, India.

The panel discussion focussed on ways and areas of joint cooperation between the UAE and India, the exchange of experiences and expertise as well as strengthening ties between the two countries in the field of SME. The panelists emphasised the strength of the economic ties between the two sides, which is characterised by diversity and continuous growth in light of various areas of cooperation agreements, which enjoy common interest in both countries.

They noted that the SME make up nearly 95 percent of companies in both countries. This represents, they continued, an incentive to enhance mutual cooperation in this vital sector. The panelists praised this unique platform to identify the key pillars to promote the establishment of business alliances in areas of technology transfer, joint ventures and others in the best interest of both parties.

Al Saleh said that SME companies are the backbone of the economy of the UAE and India. "There are many commonalities that can be built upon and take advantage of when establishing partnerships that contribute to opening of new markets and boosting competitiveness of this sector to promote both countries."

He referred to the visit of the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, to the UAE last year during which he announced an ambitious goal to increase the volume of the trade relations between the two countries by about 60 percent over the next five years. The UAE official noted the SME sector plays a crucial role in achieving this ambitious goal.

Milan K. Nag, Co-Chairman, CII National SME Council stressed the importance of partnerships between the SMEs in India and the UAE as they spur the growth of the economic and trade ties between the two countries.

He noted that the summit would help to identify sectors and areas that still have untapped opportunities between the two countries, as well as ways to harness and develop partnerships between the small and medium enterprises on both sides to achieve common economic gains.