Mega mart to facilitate exporters in $100bn non-oil bilateral trade
Bharat Mart, a US$100 million warehousing facility by India in the UAE to support Indian exporters, was presented at the India-UAE Business Summit held on 10 Jan 2024 at Vibrant Gujarat 2024 in Gandhinagar.
Bharat Mart, similar to China’s Dragon Mart, could open its doors in Dubai by 2025, to further the 2030 target of US$100 billion in non-oil trade between UAE and India.
It is designed to establish a warehouse-like retail experience for Indian companies in Dubai, spanning 100,000 square metres.
The project was first announced in August 2022, as part of the UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CEPA) that was implemented in May 2022.
DP World, the emirate’s cash-flush corporation, is leading the venture to establish the mart in the Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA), where Indian companies would be able to showcase their products and services.
Meanwhile, an India-UAE framework is in the process to promote the use of local currencies (India Rupee-Dirham) for cross-border transactions. The MoU was signed by Governors of the respective Central Banks of India and the UAE in July 2023.
Developing the Local Currency Settlement System between the two countries to settle bilateral trade reflects mutual confidence and underlines the robustness of the economies in both countries.
In the first 12 months of the CEPA, bilateral trade has increased by approximately 15%. It came into force on 1 May 2022.
The Inaugural Session of the India-UAE Business Summit included keynote by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Ministry of Economy, Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi as well as Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Rajnikant Patel.
They ceremonially launched the UAE–India CEPA Council (UICC) website as part of the inaugural session.
A report on the CII India-UAE Start-Up Initiative titled “Unlocking Opportunities: India- UAE Start-Up Ecosystem Convergence” was also launched during the summit. Fiinews.com
