Infinity In The Race For Excellence!
- Part 2 -

Gitchandra S Oinam *

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, PM of UAE and Ruler of Dubai

Time is limited and the dream is boundless; therefore I am always in hurry. We seek to eliminate the false choice of either working, making mistakes and being punished, or remaining idle, making no mistakes and therefore avoiding punishment.

We guarantee the freedom of speech for all and give people the right to express their opinions objectively. However, we should behave responsibly and be aware of the social and cultural structures around us. We realise what we have achieved is ground-breaking by all standards; we also appreciate that we are still at the beginning of the journey and that the road is long.

We believe that the role of government should be restricted to legislation and regulation, in addition to the continuous development of the country's infrastructure, thus making the private sector the engine of the development process. We feel the pain and suffering of our fellow man around the world, and we make a positive and effective contribution to alleviate the suffering of others; we help the needy to combat poverty, hunger and disease around the globe.

Our aid has humanitarian objectives only; it is never governed by politics or limited by the geography, race, color or religion of the beneficiary. We provide humanitarian capital and are a major relief station for the poor; we do not hesitate to help and support the brother, the ill-fated friend or the needy wherever they are. This is our message to the world, and this is the United Arab Emirates. These are valuable famous words of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, PM of UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

India UAE Relationship:

India and United Arab Emirates (UAE) enjoy strong bonds of friendship which are founded on millennia-old cultural, religious, defence and economic intercourse between the two regions. People-to-people contacts and barter trade between the two regions have existed for centuries. The relationship flourished after the accession of H.H. Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan as the Ruler of Abu Dhabi in 1966 and subsequently with the creation of the UAE Federation in 1971. Both sides have made sincere efforts to improve relations in all fields.

India and the UAE have signed a number of Agreements and MoUs from time-to-time, such as
Cultural Cooperation Agreement (1975);
Civil Aviation Agreement (1989);
Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (1992);
Agreement to Combat Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (1994);
Extradition Treaty (1999);
Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty in Criminal & Civil Matters (1999);
Agreement on Juridical and Judicial Cooperation in Civil and Commercial Matters (1999);
MoU on Defence Cooperation (2003);
MoU on Manpower Sourcing in (2006)
India-UAE Joint commission towards promoting bilateral cooperation New Delhi,( 2007) in the field of Trade & Investment; Combating Crime, Terrorism and Illicit Activities; Education, Culture, Youth & Sports; Health, Science and Technology, Agriculture & Environment; Manpower; Energy, Hydro-carbons, Petrochemicals and Fertilizers; Customs Cooperation; Civil Aviation & Telecommunications and other issues.

A revised MoU on Manpower Sourcing (September 2011) and MoU on Political Consultations (June 2011). Agreement on Transfer of Sentenced Persons and Agreement on Security Cooperation (November 2011).

India-UAE trade, valued at US $ 180 million per annum in the 1970s reached level of $ 67 billion during 2010-2011. For UAE, India is the largest trading partner. India's major export items to UAE are: petroleum products; precious metals; stones, gems & jewellery; minerals; food items (cereals, sugar, fruits & vegetables, tea, meat, and seafood); textiles (garments, apparel, synthetic fiber, cotton, yarn); and engineering & machinery products and chemicals. India's major import items from UAE are: petroleum and petroleum products; precious metals; stones, gems & jewellery; minerals; chemicals; wood & wood products. UAE was the fifth largest import source of crude oil for India in 2010-11 with import of 14.20 MMT of crude oil.

Investments: Total FDI from UAE to India is estimated to be US$1.8 billion. UAE is the tenth biggest investor in India in terms of FDI. UAE's investments in India are concentrated mainly in five sectors: Energy (19.1%); Services (9.3%); Programming (7.8%); Construction (6.8%); and, Tourism and Hotels (5.6%). Prominent UAE companies such as DP World, EMAAR, RAK etc. have invested significantly in various sectors of the Indian economy. Several prominent private and public sector Indian companies and banks are also operating in the UAE. UBI, Federal bank and Baroda banks of India are operating in UAE.

UAE is home to an Indian expatriate community of more than 1.75 million – the largest expatriate community in the UAE. Between 15 & 20 percent of the community is made up of professionally qualified personnel, 20 percent belong to the white collar non-professionals (clerical staff, shop assistants, sales men, accountants, etc) and remainder (about 65%) belongs to the blue-collar workers.

There is also a significant business community from India. The Indian community has played a major role in the economic development of the UAE. The economic boom in the UAE has created a huge demand for short-term immigrant labour and white collar non-professionals and professionals in increasing numbers are coming from India. Over the last few years, steady improvement has been witnessed in respect of grievance-redressal mechanisms for the Indian workers in the UAE.

India and UAE signed a MoU in the field of Manpower Sourcing in December 2006. The revised MoU was signed during the visit of UAE Labour Minister Saqr Ghobash to India in September 2011. Consultations took place on February 8-9, 2012 in New Delhi. The two sides discussed wide range of issues including the areas of bilateral and mutual interests, regional developments in the Gulf, Middle East and South Asia and international issues.

Concluded ....