It is now evident that in diplomacy, loud announcements don’t always translate into results. While Pakistan heavily publicised its deal with Saudi Arabia, a brief visit by UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to India quickly overshadowed Islamabad’s claims. On Monday, in just an hour and a half in Delhi, India and the UAE set a staggering USD 200 billion economic target, ten times Pakistan’s $20 billion deal. The India-UAE partnership has sent a clear message about the relative scale of the two countries’ economic ambitions.
India, UAE set $ 200 billion bilateral trade target by 2032
The agreements include a roadmap to more than double bilateral trade to over USD 200 billion by 2032 and expand cooperation in advanced nuclear technologies, including large nuclear reactors and small modular reactor. The announcements were made after the conclusion of the UAE President’s visit to India on Monday evening. The talks, which lasted a little over three hours, was described by the Indian side as a “short but extremely substantive visit”.
10 times bigger than Pakistan-Saudi deal
While Pakistan’s government led by PM Shehbaz Sharif had painstakingly set a trade and investment target of USD 20 billion with Saudi Arabia. Currently, their trade is stuck at a mere USD 5.7 billion, and they are still struggling to secure even the first phase of USD 5 billion in investment. On the other hand, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri has confirmed that bilateral trade between India and the UAE has already crossed the USD 100 billion mark. Now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the UAE President have decided to double this figure, aiming to reach USD 200 billion by 2032.
One of the key outcomes was a long-term agreement under which Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) will purchase 0.5 MMPTA of liquefied natural gas from Abu Dhabi National Oil Company Gas (ADNOC Gas) for a 10-year period beginning in 2028. While Pakistan is discussing refineries and oil on credit with Saudi Arabia, India and the UAE have joined hands on future technologies. In this regard, a Letter of Intent was signed between the Government of Gujarat and the UAE Ministry of Investment for the development of the Dholera Special Investment Region in Gujarat, strengthening investment cooperation.
Cooperation in defence, space and other sectors
It will include the development of strategic infrastructure, such as an international airport, a pilot training school, a maintenance, repair, and overhaul facility, a greenfield airport, and a smart urban township, along with projects related to railway connectivity and energy infrastructure. Moving beyond trade and investment, India and UAE also signed agreements to increase cooperation in areas such as space, defence and food safety. As part of this, UAE’s G42 company will support the establishment of a supercomputing cluster in India.
The two countries are also looking to establish digital data embassies and a ‘House of India’ in Abu Dhabi. To expand trade, both sides will focus on connecting micro, small, and medium enterprises and opening new markets through initiatives such as Bharat Mart, the Virtual Trade Corridor, and Bharat-Africa Setu.
Pakistan’s USD 20 billion target is still a paper-based aspiration, with most of it comprising loans or bailout packages. In contrast, India’s $200 billion target stands on a solid economic foundation, having been set after achieving the $100 billion milestone. Also, the USD 5 billion that Shehbaz Sharif’s government has been desperately seeking from Riyadh for months is an amount that India and the UAE have the capacity to invest in a single project (such as Dholera or a data center).
