The United Arab Emirates has indicated its intent to invest an additional $25 billion in India in the near future, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday (September 28, 2026), as the two countries agreed to deepen cooperation across ports, shipbuilding, energy security, space technology and financial services.
Speaking after co-chairing the 14th India-UAE High-Level Joint Task Force on Investments with Abu Dhabi Investment Authority Managing Director Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Mr. Goyal said the UAE has already invested around $25 billion in India and has a longer-term objective of taking its investments in the country to $100 billion.
“The UAE believes in India and is one of our largest foreign direct investment sources of capital. They have already invested $25 billion and are the seventh-largest source of FDI. They have also given intent to invest another $25 billion in the near future,” Mr. Goyal said.
The discussions at the task force meeting covered investments, trade facilitation, taxation, logistics, energy, market access and financial cooperation, including the use of local currencies for bilateral trade.
Mr. Goyal said the mechanism was also being used to address problems faced by investors from both countries and issues relating to the implementation of the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
India and the UAE have set a target of doubling bilateral trade to $200 billion by 2032 after trade reached around $100 billion. The target was agreed by the two countries earlier this year.
Mr. Goyal pointed to recent investments by UAE entities as evidence of growing investor interest, including Emirates NBD’s acquisition of a majority stake in RBL Bank and International Holding Company’s investment in Sammaan Capital.
Emirates NBD completed its investment of around $2.75 billion in RBL Bank in June after securing regulatory approvals, while IHC has committed around $1 billion to acquire a controlling stake in Sammaan Capital.
A major outcome of Monday’s discussions was an agreement to establish a bilateral working group covering six areas of maritime cooperation — ship ownership, development of modern ports, ship manufacturing, repair and maintenance, ship breaking and container manufacturing.
“They are looking at ports, they are looking at shipbuilding, they are looking at greater investments in space and our startups,” Mr. Goyal said, adding that UAE investors were also interested in India’s stock markets.
Mr. Goyal said India’s port capacity had doubled over the past decade and would need to double again over the next 10 years as the economy expands.
He said UAE investors could participate in new ports as well as the expansion of existing facilities, specifically referring to the upcoming Vadhavan port in Maharashtra and port projects along India’s eastern and western coasts.
“I think there is tremendous potential for mutual cooperation between UAE and India,” he said.
Energy security was another major area discussed by the two sides. Mr. Goyal said India was working with the UAE on expanding strategic petroleum reserves in the country, with studies currently underway.
“We’ll be seeing significant ramp-up of investments from UAE in this area,” he said.
India is also exploring increased supplies of LNG and other gases from the UAE, while a study is examining the feasibility of subsea pipelines that could transport gas to India, Mr. Goyal said.
The proposals come against the backdrop of heightened geopolitical uncertainty in West Asia and pressure on global energy and shipping routes. Mr. Goyal, however, said geopolitical and strategic issues themselves were not discussed by the investment task force.
The two sides also discussed expanding cooperation in artificial intelligence, emerging technologies, fintech, food security and agri-innovation.
In space technology, India and the UAE are exploring greater investment and cooperation involving startups, including companies working on technologies related to orbital debris. In fintech, discussions included using India’s digital payments capabilities alongside artificial intelligence and cybersecurity to expand financial services cooperation.
Mr. Goyal also said greater cooperation in food processing, packaging, quality control and branding could help Indian farmers and MSMEs increase exports of food and marine products to the Gulf and other international markets.
On India’s broader export performance, the minister said merchandise exports had grown by more than 15% in the current financial year up to September 21, describing the figure as an “informal data point” ahead of the release of final official numbers next month.
India recorded exports of goods and services worth around $863 billion last year and has set a target of reaching $1 trillion this year, Mr. Goyal said.
He also highlighted the role of India’s expanding network of free-trade agreements, saying that agreements with developed economies were intended to provide Indian farmers, fishermen, MSMEs and manufacturers preferential access to larger overseas markets.
Civil aviation was not a main focus of Monday’s investment task force meeting, Mr. Goyal said, but discussions between India’s relevant ministries and the UAE continued to improve cooperation and business opportunities in the sector.
Mr. Goyal said the breadth of discussions reflected the expanding economic relationship between the two countries, noting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan had met four times over the past year.
Published – September 29, 2026 03:00 am IST
