Dubai plans to become distribution hub

The UAE and India plan to expand non-oil trade to $100 billion by 2030 from $50.5 billion in April under CEPA. Recent reports have indicated that Dubai is holding discussions with Indian manufacturers, who are looking at the emirate as a distribution hub, a senior Dubai government official stated.

“The ties have come on the back of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) agreement that allows acceleration of 30%-plus trade growth,” Hadi Badri, chief executive of economic development at Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism. “The UAE’s acceptance into the BRICS economic bloc is also, I think, another stepping stone that will allow even more to be done between the UAE and India,” he added. “One of the key areas that they are looking to strengthen teams is around digital talent, people who understand computer science, data scientists and so on.”