India, UAE exploring to jointly develop infrastructure, mining projects in third countries: Piyush Goyal

13th meeting of India-UAE Joint Task Force on Investments in Abu Dhabi

India and the UAE are exploring possibilities to develop infrastructure and mining projects together in third countries, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on September 18, indicating at taking the partnership to new areas of cooperation. He was speaking on the sidelines of the 13th meeting of India-UAE Joint Task Force on Investments in Abu Dhabi.

India has the human resource and the technical capabilities, while UAE has the capital to undertake such projects, the minister said, adding that such partnerships can open up several opportunities, and this potential was discussed between both the nations. "This will be developed further," Piyush Goyal added.

Bilateral Trade 

India and the UAE are also aiming to double the bilateral trade in non-oil, non-precious metal categories to $100 billion over the next 3-4 years. This follows the recent success of healthy growth in trade between both nations in recent years.

"India and the UAE have achieved the target of $100 billion worth of bilateral trade last year within three years of setting the goal under India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA)," said Piyush Goyal.

"In the first half of 2025, bilateral non-oil trade reached nearly $38 billion, representing a 34% increase compared to the first half of 2024 and a significant step towards the UAE’s 2030 trade targets," according to a statement by the Commerce Ministry.

Cooperation on CBDCs

Ongoing strategic initiatives between the central banks of both the nations were also discussed, to enable bilateral trade in local currencies and the integration of payment systems, along with cooperation on Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC).

IIFT in Dubai Soon

Very soon, a campus of the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade will also be coming up in Dubai, said Minister Goyal, adding that all approvals have been granted in this regard. This follows a campus of the prestigious Indian Institute of Management - Ahmedabad which was opened in Dubai on September 11, after a branch of IIT was opened at Abu Dhabi two years ago.

The meeting of the joint task force was chaired by His Highness Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Managing Director of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in Abu Dhabi.