India, UAE sign 5 pacts, take ties to new plane
Mar 26, 2007 - 10:43:54 PM
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Representatives of India and the six-nation Gulf Co-operation Council -, that also comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, will meet next month to push the talks on proposed free trade agreement -.
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By IANS,
[RxPG] New Delhi, March 26 - India and the United Arab Emirates - Monday signed five agreements and resolved to cooperate to make their business ties 'number one' in the region.
UAE Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum held talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on a wide array of bilateral and regional issues, including intensification of business ties, terrorism and the Middle East peace process.
Five agreements were signed between India and the UAE - home to nearly 1.4 million Indians - in the presence of the two leaders in the stately Hyderabad House after they held talks.
A framework agreement for developing industrial relations between India and the UAE was signed by Commerce Minister Kamal Nath and UAE's Minister of State for Finance and Industry Mohammad Khalfan Bin Khirbash.
A protocol between the two sides amending the agreement for avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with respect of taxes on income signed April 29, 1992 was signed by Minister of State for Finance - S.S. Palanimanickam and Bin Khirbash.
A memorandum of understanding - for technical cooperation between Bureau of Indian Standards - and Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology - was signed by Alka Sirohi, director general of BIS and Waleed Ali Bin Falah Al-Mansouri, director general of ESMA.
Another MoU for technical cooperation in accreditation activities between National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories and ESMA was signed.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India and Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority also signed an MoU for assistance and mutual cooperation on the exchange of information.
Sheikh Mohammed, who is also ruler of Dubai, left here for Dubai after wrapping up a two-day visit Monday night during which he held talks with President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, chairman of the ruling coalition Sonia Gandhi, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Leader of the Opposition and Bharatiya Janata Party - leader L.K. Advani.
Earlier, speaking to top business honchos of India, Sheikh Mohammed called for raising India-UAE bilateral trade to 'number one' position in the region.
'We want to be number one, and not second. If we join forces together, we will be number one,' Sheikh Mohammed, who is known for transforming the entrepot into a global tourism and investment hub, said at Hotel Shangri-La here.
He was referring to China's surging bilateral trade with the UAE, estimated at around $14.2 billion, making it the largest trading partner of the Gulf Cooperation Council in the region. Compared to that, India's two-way trade with the UAE is estimated at around $11 billion.
Three memorandums of understanding - between top Indian and UAE companies that will involve an investment of billions of dollars were also signed in the presence of Sheikh Mohammed in the afternoon. An MoU was signed between the Hinduja group and Dubai World, the UAE's biggest industrial conglomerate.
Another MoU was signed between DLF and Al-Nakheel, the UAE's top real estate company for mega real estate ventures in India. Wipro, India's IT major, signed an MoU with a UAE company for a major collaborative project.
Sheikh Mohammed, on his first official visit here, underlined close and historical ties between India and the UAE as he showcased the UAE as 'the gateway to markets in the region.'
Sheikh Mohammed, statesman, poet and an international figure in horse-racing, recalled his long affair with India dating as far back as 1974 when he came here with his father as a young man.
In the morning, Sheikh Mohammed was given a ceremonial reception and an inter-services guard of honour at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the presidential palace, after being warmly received by President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
'The future is bright. Nothing will stop us from being the leader,' he stressed.
Commerce Minister Kamal Nath lauded Sheikh Mohammed as a 'visionary leader' responsible for transforming Dubai into a top investment destination.
'We look at you not only as a leader of the UAE but also as a leader of the region,' said Kamal Nath as he spoke about an 'organic relationship between India and the UAE.
Representatives of India and the six-nation Gulf Co-operation Council -, that also comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, will meet next month to push the talks on proposed free trade agreement -.
UAE's Minister of Economy Sheikha Lubna al Qasimi, the only woman cabinet minister in the Gulf country, called India 'one of UAE's major trading partners.' she spoke about real estate boom in the UAE and identified construction, health, tourism and financial services as major areas of bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
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