A total of 2,208 Indian companies joined Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) as new members in the first six months of 2019, marking an 18 percent increase compared to same period last year and highlighting a growing confidence in the emirate as an investment destination.

Indian firms accounted for 24.4 percent of new member companies that registered with Dubai Chamber between January and June 2019, bringing the total number of Indian members to 38,704, DCCI said.

The latest figures were released by the DCCI ahead of the official visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the UAE on Friday.

Hamad Buamim, President and CEO of Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, noted that the uptick in Indian members joining the Chamber follows important developments that have strengthened the India-UAE relationship in recent years which include several high-level visits, strategic cooperation agreements signed by both governments, the expansion of direct flights and a steady increase in bilateral trade and investment flows.

India remains Dubai’s second-largest trading partner with $31.6 billion (116 billion UAE dirhams) worth of bilateral non-oil trade in 2018. Bilateral trade is currently dominated by precious metals and pearls, mineral products and base metals.

Recent Dubai Chamber analysis suggests that there are several areas where India can potentially boost its exports to the UAE, including pharmaceuticals, electrical machinery, vehicles, apparels and clothing accessories.

Printed books, natural pearls, carpets and textiles were identified as high-potential products that can be exported from the UAE to India in the future.

A total of 9,062 companies joined DCCI as new members in the first half of 2019, marking a year-over-year (y-o-y) increase of over 22 percent and bringing the organisation’s total membership to over 240,000.

(Writing by Seban Scaria; Editing by Mily Chakrabarty)

(seban.scaria@refinitiv.com)

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