India, UAE bolster cooperation in key industries

DUBAI: India and the UAE signed five government-to-government MoUs on Saturday.
The MoUs signed and exchanged are related to energy sector, railways, manpower and financial services.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is currently visiting UAE, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces were also present at the ceremony this evening at Presidential Palace.
According to the details shared by the UAE embassy, an MOU between Indian Consortium (OVL, BPRL & IOCL) and ADNOC was signed for acquisition of 10% participating interest in the offshore Lower Zakum Concession. The concession will be for 40 years from 2018 to 2057 with 60% of the participating interest being retained by ADNOC and 30% awarded to other International oil companies. This is the first Indian Investment in upstream oil sector of UAE, transforming the traditional buyer-seller relationship to a long-term investor relationship.
In the field of manpower, both nations signed an MoU that aims to institutionalize the collaborative administration of contractual employment of Indian workers in UAE. Under the MoU both sides will work to integrate their labor-related e-platforms for ending malpractice, combat trafficking and organize collaborative programs for education and awareness of contractual workers.
An MoU for technical cooperation in the rail sector was also signed between Ministry of Railways, India and Federal Transport Authority — Land & Maritime of UAE. The MoU aims to facilitate cooperation in the infrastructure sector especially railways. The MoU will facilitate development of joint projects, knowledge sharing, joint research and technology transfer. The MoU envisages formation of a Joint Working Group for institutionalizing the cooperation mechanism.
To deepen bilateral cooperation in the field of finance, an MoU between Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) was signed and exchanged with a view to enhancing cooperation between both the countries in financial services industry. The MoU envisages information exchange, exchange of experts and training for mutual benefit of both the countries. The MoU would facilitate investment in financial markets by investors from both the countries. An MoU between Government of Jammu and Kashmir and DP World was also singed to establish multi-modal logistics park and hub in Jammu comprising warehouses and specialized storage solutions.