AIM 2012 March 20th PRESS RELEASE
Sharma to underline strength of India-UAE trading relationship at Annual Investment Meeting 2012
Opening Session
Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma, a leading speaker at the AIM Conference
taking place in Dubai on May 1, will stress the growing trade and economic ties between his country
and the UAE that saw the GCC’s bellwether economy become India’s top trading partner in 2009.
The minister will appear as a panelist in the first session of the AIM Conference to tackle the issue of
FDI as a strategic economic cooperation enabler between developed and emerging economies.
As trade minister, Mr. Sharma has masterminded a shift in India’s business ties to Asia and the Far
East, protecting his country from the fall-out from the recessions in Europe and the United States, and
improving links with China and ASEAN nations.
Mr. Sharma has had a marked impact on India’s international trade since taking office in 2009, reenergising stalled Doha round talks by convening a Ministerial meeting in Delhi and brokering IndiaASEAN ties, the India-Korea Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, and the India-Japan
Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement in his near three years in office.
Assuming additional control of the Textiles Ministry in 2011, Mr. Sharma, 59, has in recent weeks been
grappling with the restructuring of Indian exports, through controls on cotton exports, due to the
shortage of raw product for the domestic industry.
Trade has become central to India's prosperity since economic liberalisation in the 1990s and GDP
growth of 8% is expected to persist for in next decade. Trade with external partners, led by software
and tourism, has jumped to 53% of GDP today compared to 37% in the 2004-05 financial year.
Dubai-based non-resident Indians have helped plough the benefits of bilateral trading back into the
property market at home, which has seen an increase of 20-25% in transaction values in the past 12
months. Indians are thought to be the largest component in Dubai’s massive expatriate community.
Mr. Sharma was Chief Spokesman of the Indian National Congress for six years and was promoted to
the Union Council of Ministers with responsibility for Foreign Affairs in 2006 and became Union
Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting in 2008.
He was conferred “The Order of the Companion of Volta”, a leading Ghanaian civilian award, by
President J.A. Koufour in 2008 in recognition of his commitment to South-South Cooperation.
His involvement in Indian student politics helped him rise to the position of President of the Indian
Youth Congress in 1985, which soon led to a close relationship with late Indian Prime Minister Mr Rajiv
Gandhi, while he was one of India's youngest ever politicians, after being first elected to Parliament in
1984 at the age of 31.
Ends
About the Annual Investment Meeting
Launched in 2011, the United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of Foreign Trade Annual Investment Meeting aims
to promote bilateral trade relations between the UAE and emerging markets, and forge agreements for
project and trade development and finance among groups such as the BRICS, ASEAN countries and subSaharan Africa. The 2nd Annual Conference and Exhibition takes place on May 1-3.
[…]
Journalists wishing to meet Mr. Sharma in Dubai should contact [email protected] by April
3rd to arrange an interview.