Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal heads to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for a packed two-day visit starting Thursday. He’ll team up with Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Managing Director of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), to co-chair the 13th India-UAE High Level Task Force on Investments.
This key meeting comes at a great time to boost India-UAE economic ties. Goyal and his counterparts will check the progress on the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement, and UAE-India Central Bank cooperation. They’ll also hunt for fresh investment chances in exciting areas like maritime and space sectors, which promise huge growth potential.
On the agenda, Goyal will co-chair a UAE-India Business Council (UIBC) roundtable alongside UAE’s Minister of Foreign Trade, Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi. Expect lively chats with top CEOs from Indian and UAE firms. Plus, he’ll hold one-on-one meetings to ramp up trade, investments, and teamwork in priority fields.
The minister has a lineup of big meets, including UAE’s National Security Advisor and International Holding Company (IHC) Chairman Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development Chairman Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi, IHC Managing Director Syed Basar Shueb, and other private sector leaders.
This builds on the 12th task force meeting in Mumbai last October, where they ratified the India-UAE Bilateral Investment Treaty—signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s UAE visit in February 2024. The task force, launched back in 2013, keeps driving trade and investment links, spotting new opportunities, and fixing investor hurdles.
The UAE stands as one of India’s top strategic partners. Their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership thrives on strong political bonds, deep economic ties, and joint efforts in energy, defence, technology, and food security.
Since CEPA kicked off in May 2022, it’s supercharged bilateral trade. Merchandise trade jumped from $43.3 billion in FY 2020-21 to a whopping $83.7 billion in FY 2023-24, shifting focus to non-oil sectors for long-term wins.
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