<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">Rajesh Kumar Singh, Secretary of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), visited the United Arab Emirates to commemorate the first anniversary of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and the UAE. The two-day visit which commenced on May 9th  marks Mr. Singh's first official trip abroad since taking office in April 2023, which emphasizes India's commitment to strengthening its relationship with the UAE.</p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br />''</p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">Together with H.E Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Mr. Singh inaugurated the "CEPA – Beyond Trade" commemorative event, which featured food and fashion pavilions, sharing of the success stories of the historic trade bonds between India and the UAE, and panel discussions on future areas of cooperation. Mr. Singh spoke at the event, highlighting how the CEPA, which was negotiated in just 88 days, has become a significant turning point in the bilateral economic relations between the two countries. Since the CEPA's entry into force, bilateral trade between India and UAE has witnessed tremendous growth compared to the previous year, with India's exports to the UAE recording a remarkable growth of 12%, reaching US $31.3 billion in 2022-2023.</p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br />''</p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">In addition to the CEPA celebrations, Mr. Singh inaugurated the Kerala Pavilion at the Annual Investment Meeting in Abu Dhabi and will be inaugurating the International Jewellery Exposition Centre in Dubai on May 9th, 2023. He also served as the Chief Guest for a multi-sectoral B-2-B event in Dubai organized by the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), where around 100 companies from India and UAE, including representatives of various Export Promotion Councils (EPCs), were expected to participate.</p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br />''</p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">During his visit, Mr. Singh held meetings with the senior leadership of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Mubadala, the top UAE investors in India. He invited both companies to explore new sectors for investing in India, especially the renewable and digital sectors while welcoming the surge in investments from the UAE to India. Currently, the UAE is the seventh largest investor in India, with an estimated investment of US$ 18 billion.</span></p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br />''</p>