UAE-India MoU to drive investment and collaboration in industry and advanced technologies

UAE and India will cooperate more closely in sustainable industrial development following a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed on 5 October 2023. In line with the UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), this MoU, signed during the 11th meeting of the UAE-India High Level Joint Task Force on Investments, is aimed at enhancing UAE's position as a gateway for trade and logistics.

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.

His Excellency Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, said, “Given the UAE’s strong relationship with India across the economic, technological, and social domains, we are pleased to sign this MoU to further develop the industrial sector in line with advanced technology and sustainability standards. This aligns with the objectives of the national industrial strategy, and ‘Make it in the Emirates’ initiative, aimed at transforming the UAE into a global hub for advanced industry, especially industries of the future.”

The MoU focuses on 7 key areas, including supply chain resilience, renewable energy and energy efficiency, health and life sciences, space systems, AI, Industry 4.0 and advanced technologies, as well as standardization and metrology.

To build supply chain resilience, the UAE and India will collaborate to identify opportunities to supply raw materials. They will also share best practices on industrial enablement and incentivization for industrial growth and development, for instance in areas such as energy, land, CAPEX, OPEX, technology, and labour.

In the energy space, the UAE and India will collaborate in advancing energy storage technologies, Smart Grid and IoT deployment, and R&D in renewable energy and energy efficiency. Similarly, in health and life sciences, the countries will collaborate in the development of pharmaceuticals, the use of biotechnology, and R&D.

The UAE and India are also seeking to enhance their respective space industries through closer collaboration in space systems including the commercial development, launch and use of small satellites for communication and Earth observation, as well as space exploration. The countries will also collaborate in the development of licensing of space-related materials, in addition to R&D in the space sector.

In the field of AI, the UAE and India will cooperate in the deployment of AI technologies in the space sector, energy, healthcare and supply chains. Both countries will work together to advance capabilities in machine learning and data analytics across priority sectors.

Under the MoU, the UAE and India will also collaborate in the deployment of 4IR technologies in industry, real-time data processing, the development of machine-to-machine control systems, the development of autonomous robotics, equipment and vehicles, as well as the deployment of additive manufacturing in key industries.

The final area of collaboration is standardization, metrology, conformity assessment, accreditation, and Halal certification. The countries will exchange information including procedures, guidelines, and lists of regulated products. The countries will also cooperate to harmonize standards with international requirements and work towards the mutual recognition of the conformity assessment results.

Both countries will also share best practices relating to science and technology policies.