India had signed CEPA with the United Arab Emirates in 2022. The trade between the two countries increased to $84 billion last fiscal and Damithan is confident it would surpass the $100 billion mark within a year or two.
“India’s government is doing a great job in terms of increasing the capacity and you can see the improvement in the infrastructure and the roads,” Damithan told ET on the sidelines of a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) event on Thursday.
Damithan emphasised JAFZA’s commitments towards Indian businesses, with the hope that India’s presence in the free zone will increase substantially in the near future.
At present, Indian businesses account for 12% of total business set-ups in JAFZA. Damithan said the number of businesses may triple in the near future.
“India is the second largest trade partner with the UAE. With the CEPA, we have seen things are going fast,” Damithan pointed.
He reiterated that Dubai would soon be starting Bharat Bazaar—a traders market initiative for Indian businesses announced last year. “By showcasing Indian products, side by side with the Turkish, Chinese and other products, we will allow the customer to have access to Indian-made shipments,” he said, pointing that there was significant interest from Indian companies for the project and JAFZA was working with the Indian government on the project.
Damithan also said that JAFZA was also working on making an agri-terminal available for Indian agri industry businessmen, to come and establish a facility in the country.
DP World is a Dubai-based multinational logistics company with significant investments in India. It is part of developing three free trade zones in the country, besides operating many major port terminals.
In February, it won the contract awarded by Deendayal Port Authority for the development, operation and maintenance of Tuna-Tekra—a mega-container terminal—through Public-Private Partnership (PPP).