VIJAYAWADA: UAE Ambassador to India Abdulnasser Alshaali emphasised the importance of Andhra Pradesh in the UAE-India strategic partnership, calling for increased people-to-people, economic, and investment engagement. The UAE Embassy in Delhi, in collaboration with the UAE-India CEPA Council (UICC) and the Government of AP, held an economic and investment roundtable in Vijayawada on Thursday.
“It is essential to elevate economic and investment collaboration between the UAE and AP. The participation of over 10 major UAE companies at this roundtable underscores the significance of AP and the UAE’s commitment to supporting the State government’s ambitious investment and development agendas,” said Alshaali, co-chairing the meeting with Minister for Industries TG Bharath. He highlighted that enhancing air connectivity between the UAE and AP is crucial for boosting people-to-people engagement and direct investment. It was noted that UAE carriers could operate up to 35 direct flights per week to Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, and Tirupati, increasing passenger traffic to Andhra Pradesh’s airports by over 5,00,000 annually.
These direct air links would not only provide greater consumer choice and economic opportunities for the people of Andhra Pradesh but also strengthen the State’s position as a key regional and international aviation hub.
Bharath emphasised the State’s conducive business environment and expressed expectations for increased investments from the UAE. He assured the UAE delegation of resolving past issues and accused the previous YSRC government for investors like Lulu moving away. “We will introduce a new industrial policy soon and regain the trust of investors,” he said.
Aljneibi, Director of the UICC, provided an overview of the UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and highlighted opportunities for AP’s business community to leverage this and other bilateral initiatives. Several UAE companies outlined their investment plans in AP and India more broadly.
Earlier, Ambassador Alshaali met Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and affirmed the UAE Government’s desire to expand tangible engagement with AP across all aspects of the bilateral partnership. AP ranked as the UAE’s 11th largest trading partner among India’s 28 States and eight union territories, with total trade reaching USD 1.46 billion for the 2023-2024 fiscal year.