India and UAE should work together in civil aviation field for speedy normalisation of air transport,agrees 8th JTF meeting

New Delhi: The United Arab Emirates and India stressed the necessity of stimulating civil aviation industry and explored ways to invest in key sectors for economic growth. Both countries discussed these issues on Tuesday in the eighth Joint Task Force (JTF) meeting.

The virtual meeting, hosted by the Indian side, was led by Piyush Goyal, the Union Minister of Railways, Commerce and Industry. While Sheikh Hamid bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Member of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, led the UAE side. JTF was created in 2012 as a vital forum to further reinforce the solid relations existing between UAE and India.

Both countries agreed to encourage investment and cooperation in areas of mutual interest with the purpose to stimulate economic activity in view of the recent challenging circumstances of COVID-19 pandemic.Both sides agreed that the two civil aviation authorities should continue to work together on a priority basis, for their mutual benefit, to ensure speedy normalisation of air transport operations between the two countries.

They reviewed the existing mechanisms, UAE special desk (UAE Plus) and the Fast Track Mechanism, which were created in 2018 to facilitate investments. India consented to examine issues related to direct investments and development of UAE- based funds, with regard to SEBI's Foreign Portfolio Investor Regulations 2019.

"India is on an ambitious growth path and has significant headroom in various sectors of its economy. The UAE has been a consistent investor in diverse sectors of the Indian economy and is a valuable partner in our development journey. We attach high priority to the UAE investments and have been consistently taking progressive steps to ease the path for UAE investors," the minister commented.

"Although recent months have been difficult for us all, we have today set out an ambitious agenda for the next stage of our economic co-operation. I am convinced that we can return to significant growth in our bilateral trade and investment in the years ahead," Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan concluded.

The meeting analysed the issues relating to anti-dumping duties as well as tariff and regulatory restrictions, with an aim of cracking down certain trade barriers.