Free Trade Agreement with UAE good for all types of businesses, industries: FICCI

Dubai: Sanjiv Mehta, President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on Tuesday said that the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), India's Free Trade Agreement with UAE, is good for all types of businesses and industries be it small scale or large scale and holds benefit for both goods and services sector.

"We have to keep our ambitions high and this is a good agreement. It is good for Industry and Indian businessmen, whether it is a small scale industry or a large industry, a service sector or a merchandise sector," the FICCI president said. Speaking on the sidelines of a Business-to-Business meeting on the India-UAE trade pact he noted that CEPA is a landmark agreement between India-UAE.

"We've to understand that India & UAE are natural partners. There's a natural instinct for people of the two countries to come together & there's a deep-seated desire that we should increase business between the two," he added.

Additionally, Dr Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director of Apollo Hospitals Enterprises, while replying to a question on CEPA in regards to pharmaceuticals and medical sector, said that the overall aspect of CEPA is very powerful and the $100 million that has been set by the leadership could easily be surpassed.

"CEPA is very well and very dynamically put forward by Union Minister of Commerce Piyush Goyal. Investment in the health care infrastructure will be very beneficial, Indian capabilities like nurses and doctors could come and do more.

Indian health care groups can take partnership in UAE which is potentially a window to the rest of the world," she added.
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday expressed hope that India and the UAE will achieve $250 billion in bilateral trade in goods and services.

"We are not in the game for a 100-billion-dollar trade in 2030. We are in the game for maybe 100 billion dollars each way in the next 6-7 years. We are in the game for at least 250 billion dollars' bilateral trade in goods and services," he said at a press conference here.