The value of exports and re-exports by Sharjah-based Indian companies reached nearly $1.5 billion in 2019, according to the emirate’s FDI Office.

Invest in Sharjah (IIS), an investment promotion agency, has called for an increase in bilateral relations between the UAE and India, highlighting the emirate’s strategic location and cost-effectiveness for trade.

In a webinar, Opportunities for Indian Companies and Investors, participants heard that there are more than 21,000 Indian companies operating in the emirate, with 5,500 of them offshore, and their total export and re-export trade was valued at $1.5 billion in 2019.

Mohamed Juma Al Musharrkh, CEO of IIS, highlighted a new collaboration opportunity for the post-Covid-19 world, including hybrid tech sectors such as MedTech and AgriTech, as well as AI, 3D printing, robotics and drone technology.

“Sharjah offers fruitful economic and investment opportunities for Indian businesses in a variety of sectors across the mainland and at its six free zones, including four specialised free zones that have chalked out ambitious growth plans and attracted immense global investor interest,” he said.

The India-UAE partnership is ‘a model for the whole world’, said Dr. Aman Puri, Consul General of India, and that identifying emerging opportunities for growth between India and the UAE was vital to enable economic revival in the post-Covid-19 world.

“Sharjah is an important emirate for trade ties because of its strategic location, cost competitiveness and unique core strengths in diverse sectors,” he said.

Dr. Khalid Omar Al Midfa, Chairman of Sharjah Media City (Shams), said the free zone is collaborating with investors in the Indian film industry to set up studios and identify locations for film shoots.

“The presence of more than 3,000 media companies, many of them SMEs, validates our mission to make creative entrepreneurship accessible by providing entrepreneurs with a vibrant and connected ecosystem to invest and grow their innovative business ideas,” he said.

He added: “As the media industry is constantly evolving, we are investing into technology to enable our digital firms gain greater access to different markets within the UAE and across the region.”

Sharjah’s reputation as a pro-investor emirate has been further enhanced with the launch of Sharjah Investors Services Centre (Saeed), a business facility offering fully-integrated 360-degree government solutions for investors looking to set up business in Sharjah, he concluded.

(Writing by Imogen Lillywhite; editing by Seban Scaria)

imogen.lillywhite@refinitiv.com

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