Jammu Kashmir (J&K) has inked six agreements with global investors at EXPO2020 Dubai to bring in investments in the UT’s real estate, infrastructure, tourism, healthcare, manpower employment sectors among others.
Manoj Sinha, Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Jammu & Kashmir addressed the Investors Summit in Dubai yesterday, which was attended by renowned business leaders and investors from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
“Jammu Kashmir has moved from a sleeping business destination to the land of opportunities and investment. The Union Territory received investments to the tune of USD 2.5 billion in 2021 and showcased the enormous opportunities and business potential in the region,” Sinha said.
Jammu Kashmir has signed 5 MoUs with Al Maya Group, MATU Investments LLC, GL Employment Brokerage LLC, Century Financial and Noon E-commerce respectively; 1 LoI between Magna Waves Pvt. Ltd along with Emaar Group and Lulu International.
Shri Sinha also met the DP World Chairman, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem to discuss potential areas of collaboration between the Government of Jammu & Kashmir and DP World.
Talking about the upcoming opportunities with these leading investors, Shri Sinha added, “Jammu Kashmir is working relentlessly to provide an investment-friendly environment to the global investors. From the business point of view, J&K has the capability to provide opportunity to the industries to compete, correct and collaborate with readily available abundant resources. Archaic laws have been removed and more than 890 Central laws, which are the key drivers of socio-economic growth have been made applicable in the last two years.”
Elaborating on the potential of collaboration between India and the UAE, Dr. Ahmed Abdul Rahman AlBanna, Ambassador of UAE Embassy said, “India is the second largest trading partner for the United Arab Emirates and UAE is the third-largest trading partner for India after the United States of America and China. Our total Foreign Trade figures reached about USD 60 billion in 2019-2020. The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the United Arab Emirates and India will be crucial in deepening the ties between India and UAE. We are hoping that CEPA will increase our bilateral trade from USD 60 billion to USD 100 billion in the coming 5 to 8 years.”
“Ever since the Government of India announced the historic administrative changes in 2019, the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has become the latest success story among Indian states as a model of economic and social development. India and UAE are among each other’s largest trading partners. And soon, CEPA will be signed, which certainly has the potential to catapult our economic engagement to a very different trajectory altogether,” said Shri Sunjay Sudhir, Ambassador of India to the UAE while addressing the Investors Summit yesterday.
The J&K Lieutenant Governor, Shri Sinha, also visited the India Pavilion at EXPO2020 Dubai during the ongoing Jammu & Kashmir Week (03-13 January) and toured the J&K Pavilion earlier in the day.
Talking about the importance of EXPO2020 Dubai to J&K, he said, “India’s participation at the Expo is a testament to the fact that the country values UAE as an esteemed partner. Various States and Sectors in India have understood the importance of the Expo, and the global exposure provided by the event. Jammu & Kashmir is privileged to participate at this global event and strengthen its footprint in the UAE.”
The JK Pavilion was inaugurated by Shri Ranjan Prakash Thakur, Principal Secretary to the Government Industries & Commerce along with Dr Aman Puri, Consul General of India in Dubai and Deputy Commissioner-General for India at EXPO2020 Dubai on 3rd January.
In addition to the Investor Summit and J&K Week at India Pavilion, Shri Sinha also inaugurated a two-day Buyer-Seller Meet today, hosted by the Consulate General of India, Dubai in collaboration with Invest India.
The Buyer Seller meet is being organized between sellers from the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and buyers from the UAE under One District One Product initiative. The key focus sectors for the meeting are Agri Products & Processed Food and Handicraft and Textile.