The UAE-India Partnership Summit opened in Dubai today with a large number of Indian company executives and government officials attending the two day event.

The summit was attended by Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy who delivered a speech before the summit during which he affirmed that the visit paid by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces to India earlier this year reflected the UAE' s keenness to boosting bilateral relations to a higher and more privileged level of distinction.

A number of strategic partnership agreements were signed during the visit to boost cooperation across multiple domains between the two nations, said the minister.

"This summit proves that the national economic and trade agendas developed by the two nations have several areas in common, especially with regards to primary sectors," said the minister.

He underlined the importance of translating the investment opportunities currently in the offing to projects that yield considerable benefits to the two peoples, calling for building on the fruitful results yielded by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed's visit to India for the higher good of both nations.

"The total non-oil trade between the two nations, including free-zones, amounted to AED132 billion last year, which places India among UAE's top strategic partners."

A total of 4,3000 Indian companies are operating in the UAE in addition to 200 trade agencies, the minister remarked, noting that India's UAE-bound investments in 2016 surged to AED23.5 billion.

He expressed the hope that the summit will contribute to further enhancing the Indian business community's awareness about the investment-conducive environment in the country.

UAE's investments in India amounted to US$4.4 billion in 2015, he said, affirming the country's determination to expand its strategic partnerships with India to include sectors like renewable energy, transport, education, health, IT, water, and space.