The UAE and India have reinforced their economic partnership, with 22,415 Indian businesses setting up operations in the UAE during the first half of 2025.
This development highlights the success of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which removed duties on 90 per cent of India’s exports to the UAE, encouraging greater business activity between the two nations.
The increase in companies also mirrors a wider rise in non-oil trade between the countries, which grew by 16 per cent to USD 85 billion in 2023. This figure is expected to surpass USD 100 billion over the next five years.
According to the Dubai Chamber of Commerce, the number of active Indian firms in the UAE exceeded 72,650 by March 2025. This surge has been supported by the establishment of new international offices aimed at attracting more Indian businesses.
Further strengthening of bilateral ties includes the integration of the UAE’s instant payment platform with India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), as well as enabling direct transactions in local currencies – the dirham and the rupee.
Collaboration in education and healthcare has also grown, with Indian universities and hospitals launching projects in the UAE to meet the needs of the country’s large Indian population.
