UAE Ambassador to India, Abdulnasser Alshaali, underlined the strengthening of economic ties between India and the UAE, highlighting key initiatives such as the UAE-India CEPA Council, which aims to boost bilateral trade and entrepreneurship. In an interview to ANI, Ambassador Alshaali said, "It's quite important for us as UAE and CEPA Council doing business events and business roundtables across India". According to its official website, the UAE-India CEPA Council (UICC) was launched on the sidelines of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit on January 10, 2024.
The UICC is a joint UAE and Indian government initiative aimed at ensuring that the two countries' business communities fully leverage the benefits of the UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (UAE-India CEPA), which came into effect on May 1, 2022. Ambassador Alshaali said, "It makes a lot of sense that we engage with entrepreneurs, especially women entrepreneurs. Back in the UAE, we have 23,000 women managing USD 30 billion, and it's not any less than that when it comes to India".
Lauding the achievements of Indian women in business sector, he said, "You have women working in different sectors doing great stuff. They have implemented great ideas and turned into very successful businesses and it's quite important that all of this work, those businesses are appreciated and that they are taken into consideration when we talk bilateral relationship, bilateral trade and expanding and enhancing the economic relation.
