UAE and India to enhance cooperation in new product development

 Ministry of Foreign Trade Director General H.E. Abdullah Bin Ahmed Al Saleh called for greater cooperation between the UAE and India on the development of new products during a plenary session, the third and last day of the Confederation of Indian Industry’s Partnership Summit running at the Chennai Trade Centre in Chennai, India.

Held under the theme ’Global Partnerships - Meeting Challenges,’ the 16th edition of the Summit has gathered government and business delegations from 22 countries to discuss key global issues and India’s contributions as a large developing nation to worldwide progress within the next decade. H.E. Al Saleh was invited to join expert panellists from the Indian Government, namely Arun Maira, Member of the Planning Commission and Sam Pitroda, Adviser of the Deputy Prime Minister on Infrastructure, in a special plenary session titled ’Innovation: Partnerships for New Product Development.’ The session was preceded by a keynote address from Prithviraj Chavan, India’s Minister of State for Science and Technology.

In his speech, the Director General referred to mutual exploration of opportunities in the research and development (R’&’D) and product innovation fields to grow their nations into knowledge-based economies: "India has highly skilled manpower in growth sectors such as biotechnology, nanotechnology and information technology and relatively cheap labour costs. The UAE, on the other hand, has an edge to technology. Both these countries have unique skills which can serve their interests through potential partnerships in areas such as R&D and product innovation." H.E. Al Saleh noted the emergence of a global technological revolution which has seen an explosion in the flow of information, trade R&D and cultural exchange. He said that the volume of trade in technology and high-tech goods has grown rapidly alongside that of raw materials and traditional goods. The Director General added that the time has come for countries to work more closely on the development of new products that complement each other’s skills in order to derive mutual benefits and satisfy domestic demand. He emphasized that bilateral and multilateral partnerships would lead to the development of cost effective, creative and advanced products.

This year’s CII Partnership Summit is being attended by 25 delegations in the presence of the Malaysian Prime Minister, the President of the Maldives, and India’s Minister of Industry and Commerce, Ananda Sharma. Several participants such as Oman’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, H.E. Maqbool Ali Maqbool, have come from the Gulf Cooperation Council.
 

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