India UAE Trade

Recent Trends & Developments

• On May 15, 2026, India and the UAE signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on strategic petroleum collaboration to strengthen energy security through crude oil storage, including the expansion of India's Strategic Petroleum Reserves and collaboration on LNG and LPG storage.
• Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) signed a strategic collaboration agreement to explore long-term LPG supply arrangements, reinforcing India–UAE energy cooperation.
• India and the UAE established a Strategic Defence Partnership Framework to deepen cooperation in defence manufacturing, advanced technologies, maritime security, cyber defence, joint exercises, and interoperability.
• Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) and Drydocks World (DDW) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop a Ship Repair Cluster at Vadinar, supporting India's maritime infrastructure and shipbuilding ecosystem.
• Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), Drydocks World (DDW), and the Centre of Excellence in Maritime & Shipbuilding (CEMS) signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen skill development and create a globally competitive maritime workforce in shipbuilding and ship repair.
• India and the UAE agreed to establish an 8 Exaflop Super Computing Cluster through a partnership between Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) and G42, supporting India's Artificial Intelligence Mission and high-performance computing capabilities.
• The UAE announced investments of up to US$ 5 billion in India, including up to US$ 1 billion by Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and the National Infrastructure and Investment Fund (NIIF) for infrastructure, US$ 3 billion by Emirates NBD in RBL Bank, and US$ 1 billion by International Holding Company (IHC) in Sammaan Capital.
• On January 19, 2026, President of the United Arab Emirates Mr. H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan paid an official visit to India and held talks with Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, during which both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to deepening the India–UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, with emphasis on expanding trade, strengthening defence cooperation, advancing energy security and enhancing long-term investment collaboration.
• On January 19, 2026, India and the UAE agreed to work towards doubling bilateral trade to US$ 200 billion, alongside strengthening cooperation in energy, civil nuclear, food security, advanced technologies and infrastructure, as reflected in the Joint Statement issued during the UAE President’s visit.
• On January 19, 2026, the two countries signed a Letter of Intent to establish a Strategic Defence Partnership, marking a significant step forward in defence and security cooperation, including collaboration in defence production, technology exchange and joint capability development.
• On January 19, 2026, India and the UAE finalised a long-term LNG supply agreement, under which UAE-based ADNOC Gas will supply 0.5 million metric tonnes of LNG annually to India over a ten-year period, strengthening bilateral energy cooperation and supporting India’s energy security objectives.
• On January 19, 2026, India and the UAE agreed in principle to cooperate on joint space infrastructure and commercialisation, including launch facilities, manufacturing zones, incubation centres and training institutions, following the signing of a Letter of Intent between IN-SPACe and the UAE Space Agency.
• On November 26, 2025, the 3rd Joint Committee Meeting under the India–UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) was held in New Delhi, where both sides reviewed implementation progress and noted strong growth in bilateral trade following the agreement.
• On October 8, 2024, India and the UAE announced plans to interlink India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) with the UAE’s AANI system, aimed at enabling seamless cross-border digital transactions and strengthening financial connectivity, particularly benefiting the Indian diaspora in the UAE.
• In March 2025, India–UAE officials held talks on connectivity via the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC), bolstering a master application for trade and regulatory interface (MAITRI) and Virtual Trade Corridor.
• In October 2024, India and the UAE held the second Meeting of the Joint Committee under the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). Both nations highlighted significant growth in bilateral trade in the first two years of CEPA's implementation and expressed confidence in surpassing the US$ 100 million non-oil trade target ahead of 2030. They also discussed ways to further strengthen their trade relations.
• The 12th Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC) meeting between India and UAE in Abu Dhabi held on 9th July 2024, explored various opportunities to enhance defence and security ooperation, including training, joint exercises, industrial collaboration, expert exchange, and R&D initiatives.
• On the 75th anniversary of India's independence and the 50th year of UAE's foundation. Two MOUs signed between Indian and UAE entities were also announced during the summit. These are, MOU between APEDA and DP World & Al Dahra on the Food Security Corridor initiative and MOU between India’s Gift City and Abu Dhabi Global Market on cooperation in financial projects and services. Two other MOUs – one on cooperation in Climate Action and the other on Education have also been agreed between the two sides.
• The UAE has acknowledged the role played by Indians in its economic development, and recently the UAE government allotted 26 acres for the construction of a temple in Abu Dhabi, which speaks volumes about the level of respect the two countries share.
• I2U2 framework: In July 2022, a new quadrilateral forum was established called the I2U2, whose members are India, Israel, UAE, and the US. The forum identifies six areas of cooperation, namely water, food security, health, energy, transportation, and space.
• The 14th India-UAE Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) was co-chaired by External Affairs Minister Mr. S. Jaishankar and Foreign Minister of UAE Mr. Sheikh Abdulla bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on September 1, 2022. Two MOUs were signed between both sides in the presence of the Ministers. These are, MOU between the Wildlife Institute of India and the International Fund for Houbara Conservation for the Conservation of the Great Indian Bustard and the Lesser Florican and MOU between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of UAE and Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) on the Establishment of the India-UAE Cultural Council Forum.
• India and UAE successfully held the 1st Meeting of the Joint Committee (JC) of the India-UAE CEPA on June 12, 2023. Both sides reviewed the bilateral trade under the CEPA, agreed to operationalize the established committees/sub-committees/technical council under the CEPA, agreed on mutual exchange of preferential trade data on quarterly basis for effective monitoring of the CEPA, discussed various matters related to the implementation of the Agreement and agreed on addressing any issue that may potentially act as a hindrance to CEPA implementation or its usage by businesses on both sides, agreed on creation of a new sub-committee on Trade in Services, and also agreed to set-up a UAE-India CEPA Council (UICC) as a B2B collaboration mechanism, with a focus on MSMEs and start-ups, for building greater economic linkages and optimizing CEPA benefits.
• Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi met H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE and the Ruler of Abu Dhabi over delegation level and one-on-one talks in Abu Dhabi on July 15, 2023. The two leaders held wide ranging discussions covering various dimensions of the bilateral partnership, including trade & investment, fintech, energy, renewables, climate action, higher education and people to people ties. The two leaders witnessed the exchange of three significant documents:
• MoU between RBI and UAE Central Bank for the establishment of a framework to promote the use of local currencies (INR - AED) for cross-border transactions.
• MoU between RBI and UAE Central Bank for bilateral cooperation on interlinking their payment and messaging systems.
• MoU between Ministry of of Education of India, Department of Education and Knowledge, Abu Dhabi and IIT Delhi for planning to establish IIT Delhi - Abu Dhabi, UAE.
• India and UAE signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed on October 5, 2023, to cooperate more closely in sustainable industrial development. The MoU was signed by H.E Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and H.E Mr. Piyush Goyal, India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, in the presence of H.H Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council. Focusing on facilitating industrial investments, technology transfer and enabling the deployment of key technologies in industries, the MoU will benefit both countries through joint industrial and technological developments.
• Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi together with President Mr. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of UAE, co-hosted the High-level event on ‘Green Credits Programme’ at COP-28, on December 1, 2023, in Dubai. The event saw participation of H.E. Mr. Ulf Kristersson, Prime Minister of Sweden, H.E. Mr. Filipe Nyusi, President of Mozambique and H.E. Mr. Charles Michel, President of the European Council. The Green Credit Initiative has been conceptualized as a mechanism to incentivize voluntary pro-planet actions, as an effective response to the challenge of climate change and envisions the issue of Green Credits for plantations on waste/degraded lands and river catchment areas, to rejuvenate and revive natural eco-systems.
• Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Mr. Piyush Goyal addressed the UAE India Business Summit during the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit where he stated that India-UAE aim to elevate bilateral trade to US$ 100 billion. He also highlighted the bilateral trade growth under the India UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). He stressed on key collaborations like the India-Middle East-Europe economic corridor and initiatives promoting Rupay aiming to bolster trade relations further, facilitating direct transactions between the rupee and dirham.

Conclusion

India–UAE relations have entered a mature and action-oriented phase, marked by expanded cooperation in trade, energy, defence and advanced technologies. The January 2026 leadership engagement reinforced the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, with concrete outcomes including a long-term LNG supply agreement, progress towards a strategic defence framework and an ambitious target to double bilateral trade to US$ 200 billion. Strong political trust and growing economic integration underpin a stable and forward-looking partnership.

As per the Minister of State for Foreign Trade, the FTA between the two countries is expected to add US$ 9 billion to the GDP of the UAE by 2030. With the CEPA agreement, around US$ 26 billion of Indian products subject to 5% import duty will benefit and will help increase the investment flows, job creation, and ease of doing business. As one of the most important energy trading partners, India and UAE are working together to further strengthen the relations and work towards a low-carbon future.