Non-Oil Trade With India Went Up 50% In 3 Years: UAE Minister At NDTV Summit

UAE-India non-oil trade has grown nearly 50 per cent in three years, crossing $76 billion in 2025, UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism, Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri said at the NDTV World Summit.

The minister credited the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), signed by the two countries in February 2022, for boosting trade and strengthening economic ties.

Addressing the summit in New Delhi, Al Marri said the partnership had become more important as the global economic order faces growing uncertainty.

#NDTVWorldSummit | "On every visit to India, I see the same thing- a relationship that has grown so wide that it has become a partnership that no longer needs a signing ceremony in order to grow": UAE Minister Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri https://t.co/WaOmreB1AA

— NDTV (@ndtv) October 22, 2026

"Many of the assumptions that shape the global economy for a generation are now being questioned," he said.

UAE-India Trade Crosses $100 Billion

Highlighting the growth in economic ties, Al Marri said non-oil trade between India and the UAE had risen from $51 billion in the first year of the agreement to more than $76 billion in 2025.

He said that the total bilateral trade crossed $101 billion in India's last financial year.

The two countries have set a target of taking bilateral trade to $200 billion by 2030.

"The agreement is an engine that drives us forward, not a station where we stop," the minister said.

Al Marri, who signed the agreement alongside India's Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, said the partnership had expanded beyond trade to cover investment, logistics, energy, industry, food security and advanced technology.

'Familiarity, Friendship And Trust'

The minister also highlighted the historical links between India and the UAE, saying their relationship had developed over centuries through trade and cultural exchanges.

He recalled how ships once carried goods such as textiles and pearls between ports in the two countries, building a relationship based on trust and familiarity long before formal agreements were signed.

"Over the centuries, that link gave us what no agreement can create, familiarity, friendship and trust," he said.

Al Marri said UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan had described the relationship as a "strong alliance and a distinguished strategic and economic partnership".

He added that the ties between the two countries had grown to a point where they no longer needed formal signing ceremonies to keep expanding.

"On every visit to India, I see the same thing, a relationship that has grown so wide that it has become a partnership that no longer needs a signing ceremony in order to grow," he said.