India and the UAE enjoy excellent bilateral relations. The relationship is deep rooted and historical and has been nurtured over centuries by close cultural and civilisational contact, trade, high-level political interaction and vibrant people-to-people linkages.
Today, their bilateral relations are multi-faceted. Rapidly growing India-UAE economic and commercial relations contribute to further deepening these ties. India and the UAE have been among each other’s leading trading partners. India-UAE bilateral trade, which was valued at $180 million per annum in the 1970s, has leapfrogged to $85 billion this year.
Both nations have signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (Cepa) on February 18, 2022, during a virtual summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Sheikh Mohamed. The agreement entered into force on May 1, 2022. This historical agreement has unleashed immense opportunities in bilateral trade, and it is expected to increase the bilateral trade in goods to $100bn within five years and trade in services to $15bn.
It was remarkable that this wide-ranging and ambitious agreement was negotiated in just 88 days. It reflects the mutual trust and collaboration of more than five decades between our two great nations. The Cepa has ushered a paradigm shift in our bilateral relations and unlocked new opportunities in bilateral trade and investments. Built on three pillars of trust, transparency and talent, the agreement will benefit both nations.
The UAE has consistently remained India's third-largest trading partner and the second-largest export destination for Indian products
The historical India-UAE Cepa was the first bilateral trade agreement of its type concluded by the UAE, and India’s first bilateral trade agreement in the Mena region.
It is a wide-ranging agreement, covering all aspects of India’s economic engagement with the UAE, including trade, investments, health care, digital trade, government procurement and intellectual property rights, among other things.
India-UAE economic engagement is multi-dimensional and rapidly growing. The UAE has consistently remained India's third-largest trading partner and the second-largest export destination for Indian products. For the UAE, India is the second-largest trading partner. The UAE is also the seventh-largest investor in India, with an estimated investment of $18bn. Moreover, India and the UAE have entered into a memorandum of understanding whereby the UAE has committed to investing $75bn in infrastructure development in India.
Further, in October 2021, the Government of Dubai signed an MoU with the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir for real estate development, industrial parks, logistics, a medical college and hospital. At the recently concluded Uttar Pradesh (UP) Global Investors Summit, many UAE businesses signed MoUs with the UP government to invest in health care, logistics and food parks. Several other significant partnerships have also been launched since May 2022 related to energy, food security, education and health care. The UAE-India Cepa is a major trade agreement to transform bilateral economic, trade and investment ties and propel economic growth. The agreement also promises to be a gateway for the Indian exporters to emerging economies in the Middle East and Africa.
The agreement entered into force in May 2022, has been operating smoothly for nearly a year now. The fact that Cepa was negotiated and signed during the Covid-19 pandemic indicates that this deal was very much necessary in a challenging global economic environment. The impressive overall growth in bilateral trade is a true reflection of the early gains accruing from the agreement.
During the 11-month period from April 2022 to February 2023, bilateral trade between our two countries grew to $77.6bn from $65.1bn in the same period a year earlier, recording an impressive growth of 19.2 per cent. During this period, India’s exports to the UAE saw a remarkable growth of 15.3 per cent, reaching $28.76bn from $24.95bn the year before. The impressive growth in bilateral trade will have resulted in many new job opportunities in both countries, especially the growth in India’s exports, which has happened in labour intensive sectors like gems and jewellery, as well as the food and agricultural sectors.
On February 18, 2023, a year after the Cepa’s signing, Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, and I launched the UAE India Business Council-UAE Chapter (UIBC-UAE), in the presence of its founding members. The UIBC-UAE is the counterpart of UIBC India, which was established at New Delhi in 2015. It brings together key partners and stakeholders from both countries and is poised to play a crucial role in supporting both governments in maximising the potential of the UAE-India economic relationship.
The path-breaking UAE-India Cepa is not only a significant turning point in the bilateral economic relations, but it will be seen as a well-established model for international economic collaboration.
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Third Test
Result: India won by 203 runs
Series: England lead five-match series 2-1
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Results:
6.30pm: Handicap (Turf) | US$175,000 2,410m | Winner: Bin Battuta, Christophe Soumillon (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer)
7.05pm: UAE 1000 Guineas Trial Conditions (Dirt) | $100,000 | 1,400m | Winner: Al Hayette, Fabrice Veron, Ismail Mohammed
7.40pm: Handicap (T) | $145,000 | 1,000m | Winner: Faatinah, Jim Crowley, David Hayes
8.15pm: Dubawi Stakes Group 3 (D) | $200,000 | 1,200m | Winner: Raven’s Corner, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
8.50pm: Singspiel Stakes Group 3 (T) | $200,000 | 1,800m | Winner: Dream Castle, Christophe Soumillon, Saeed bin Suroor
9.25pm: Handicap (T) | $175,000 | 1,400m | Winner: Another Batt, Connor Beasley, George Scott
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
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Abu Dhabi racecard
5pm: Maiden (Purebred Arabians); Dh80,000; 1,400m.
5.30pm: Maiden (PA); Dh80,00; 1,400m.
6pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan National Day Cup (PA); Group 3; Dh500,000; 1,600m.
6.30pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan National Day Cup (Thoroughbred); Listed; Dh380,000; 1,600m
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup for Private Owners Handicap (PA); Dh70,000; 1,400m.
7.30pm: Handicap (PA); Dh80,000; 1,600m
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HAEMOGLOBIN DISORDERS EXPLAINED
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League last-16, second leg:
Real Madrid 1 (Asensio 70'), Ajax 4 (Ziyech 7', Neres 18', Tadic 62', Schone 72')
Ajax win 5-3 on aggregate
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Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
