Tamil Nadu is keen to explore collaboration with the UAE in various sectors including space technology, drones and quantum computing, Industries Minister TRB Raja said.
Chennai, July 24 (PTI) Tamil Nadu is keen to explore collaborations in various sectors including space technology, drones and quantum computing, Industries Minister TRB Raja said here on Wednesday.
The state is also expected to be the largest exporter of electronics this year, worth $12 billion, he said at an event here.
“We are looking at space technology and drones. We have a leading drone manufacturer and we are also looking at quantum computing. There is a lot of scope to strengthen ties between the UAE and Tamil Nadu,” Raja told reporters on the sidelines of the event.
He said that the team he led to participate in the World Economic Forum in Davos had invited a delegation led by H.E. H.E. Sheikh Alia bint Abdulla Al Mazrouei, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and Small and Medium Enterprises of the UAE, to Chennai and the team visited the city based on their request.
“This is their third visit to India having visited Delhi, Mumbai and now Chennai. Tomorrow, the UAE minister and his team will meet Chief Minister MK Stalin (on possible cooperation between the UAE and Tamil Nadu),” Raja said.
Replying to a question, he said Tamil Nadu was third in electronics exports from India last year, which stood at $10 billion and was projected to touch $12 billion this year.
Earlier, speaking at Investopia organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Tamil Nadu, he said Tamil Nadu is the strongest railway driving state in India.
“As you will agree, India has 40,000 factories, about 43 percent of the manufacturing workforce is women, there are many small and medium-sized enterprises and India churns out more than 150,000 engineers from its engineering universities every year,” he said.
Raja emphasised that his government is keen to continue the dialogue taking place at the event between potential investors from the UAE or Tamil Nadu.
“Today’s meeting has potential entrepreneurs from the UAE and Tamil Nadu participating and we will be able to meet them. And after this meeting, we will ensure that outcomes come out of all the meetings that will take place today. We have formed a working group with representatives from Tamil Nadu Guidance, CII, Investopia and the UAE government to focus on generating outcomes based on the dialogue that will take place here,” he said.
“We are not just focused on the UAE and the Middle East, but also on the African market, which will be of great benefit to both countries,” he said.
In her speech, UAE Minister of State for Entrepreneurship, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) Alia bint Abdullah Al Mazrouei highlighted cooperation and connections between the two countries.
Mazrouei said the UAE is a country full of opportunities thanks to its strong finances and strategic geographic location, highlighting how the small and medium-sized enterprises sector is valued.
“The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (between the UAE and India) has given an impetus to economic ties between the two countries after two years of discussions,” said R Dinesh, chairman of the CII International Council and chairman of TVS Supply Chain Solutions.
“We have had several high-level interactions and explored many avenues of collaboration. TN was the state’s choice as it has a lot of strengths in terms of entrepreneurship, IT and mobility and is supported by TN’s dynamic government,” he said.
R Nandini, chairman, Southern Region, CII, said, “There are 3.5 million Indians living in the UAE, which is about 30 per cent of the Emirati population. We can proudly say that we are the largest expatriate community in the UAE today. In the next five years, non-oil trade between the two countries is expected to cross $100 billion and exceed $250 billion by 2030.”
“As this strong economic partnership continues to grow by leaps and bounds, FDI inflows from the UAE to India exceeded $16 billion last year, making the UAE India’s fourth largest investor,” Nandini added.
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