ABU DHABI // India's president yesterday appealed to UAE businesses and industry to lend her nation the necessary expertise in major building projects as the South Asian giant divests itself of public sector infrastructure development.
Pratibha Patil, speaking at a luncheon in the capital attended by the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry and an Indian delegation of entrepreneurs, said UAE involvement in her country's infrastructure would be a key element of its development.
"We need investments in infrastructure, in roads and ports for growth," Mrs Patil said. "India has embarked upon an ambitious programme of disinvestment in its public sector undertakings … [and] has a huge requirement for developing basic infrastructure like roads and ports, power generation and communications, among others.
"Considerable potential exists between the two countries for further enhancing the present level of trade and economic co-operation," she said. "The UAE has become a gateway for our trade with the rest of the region."
Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, the Minister of Foreign Trade, emphasised the growing importance of commerce between the two countries at the luncheon yesterday, which was hosted by the Abu Dhabi chamber.
"The partnership with India will help in developing small and medium industries," Sheikha Lubna said. "We would like to see joint ventures in IT, an increase in the number of trade fairs, and joint partnerships in researching the renewable energy sector." She said that in the past few months she had led several delegations of UAE entrepreneurs to India to help them explore joint ventures in information technology, infrastructure and renewable energy that are capable of developing small and medium-sized businesses in both countries.
Fatima al Jaber, the chairwoman of the Abu Dhabi Businesswomen Council's executive board and the chief operating officer with Al Jaber Group, which oversees major construction projects in the UAE and the region, said she visited India two months ago as part of a delegation to explore just such opportunities.
"It is a potential market and we are still assessing that market," Mrs al Jaber said. "Availing these opportunities should be of great advantage to both sides.
"With the growth happening in India, this is a good time. We have been trading for a long time with each other, but now it is a different market. The economic and structural development now needs a different kind of expertise."
India is the UAE's largest trading partner. Bilateral trade was worth US$43 billion (Dh157.93bn) in 2009-2010.
The UAE is also the top Middle East and 10th-largest overall investor in India, Sheikha Lubna said. The UAE's contributions amounted to 1.4 per cent of direct foreign investment last year in India, or $1.5 billion.
The South Asian nation of 1.15 billion people is in desperate need of updated roads, ports and railways to meet the demands of a growing population and its businesses.
Mrs Patil also asked for the UAE's help in developing India's agricultural sector, which still relies on traditional farming methods.
Yusuf Ali, the managing director of Emke Group, which owns the Lulu chain of supermarkets, said he was happy to work with the Indian government in developing food infrastructure. Four processing plants in India now supply the Lulu supermarket chain in the Middle East.
"The expertise can come from here, whether it is production, packaging or purchasing," said Mr Ali.
sbhattacharya@thenational.ae
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
The%20specs
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Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Getting there
The flights
Flydubai operates up to seven flights a week to Helsinki. Return fares to Helsinki from Dubai start from Dh1,545 in Economy and Dh7,560 in Business Class.
The stay
Golden Crown Igloos in Levi offer stays from Dh1,215 per person per night for a superior igloo; www.leviniglut.net
Panorama Hotel in Levi is conveniently located at the top of Levi fell, a short walk from the gondola. Stays start from Dh292 per night based on two people sharing; www. golevi.fi/en/accommodation/hotel-levi-panorama
Arctic Treehouse Hotel in Rovaniemi offers stays from Dh1,379 per night based on two people sharing; www.arctictreehousehotel.com
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
'Jurassic%20World%20Dominion'
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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
MATCH INFO
Chelsea 3 (Abraham 11', 17', 74')
Luton Town 1 (Clark 30')
Man of the match Abraham (Chelsea)
Zayed Sustainability Prize
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Celta Vigo 2
Castro (45'), Aspas (82')
Barcelona 2
Dembele (36'), Alcacer (64')
Red card: Sergi Roberto (Barcelona)
