Andhra Pradesh Can Be Strategic Node in UAE-India Economic Corridor: Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri
The UAE minister expressed confidence in AP potential: “We are confident that Andhra Pradesh can become a strategic node in the UAE-India Economic Corridor, from port connectivity and logistics to food security, AR research, and clean tech deployment.”
Vijayawada: The high-profile Investopia Global – Andhra Pradesh Conference, organised by the Economic Development Board in Vijayawada, witnessed the convergence of top UAE leadership and Indian dignitaries here on Wednesday.
UAE’s minister of economy and tourism, Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, who is also chairman of Investopia, was at the head of a high-power delegation to explore investment opportunities in Andhra Pradesh.
Al Marri delivered the keynote address, sharing the genesis of Investopia and his personal connections with Andhra Pradesh.
He Al Marri said, “A lot of people ask me why Investopia - why the words ‘invest’ and ‘utopia’ came together. In 2021, in the days of Covid-19, when aviation was down, tourism was down, retail was down, industries were barely operating. I was thinking not of challenges but of opportunities. How do we invest in utopia? Utopia means new things, extraordinary things.”
He presented remarkable bilateral trade figures: “Our non-oil trade grew by over 20.5 per cent, reaching about $250 billion. India was the UAE’s top non-oil export destination, accounting for 30.5 per cent of all our exports with a 75.2 per cent year-on-year growth. We are India’s largest trading partner globally, and we expect bilateral non-oil trade to surpass more than $100 billion annually by 2030,” he said.
On tourism connectivity, Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri noted, “India ranks as the number one source market for inbound tourism to the UAE. In 2024, the total number of Indian tourists visiting the UAE reached 4.2 million, marking a significant increase from 3.7 million in 2023. Moreover, 641 flights operate weekly between the two nations.”
Al Marri highlighted investment commitments: “The UAE has already committed and contributed $16 billion in FDI to India. Indian businesses are now the largest foreign business community in the UAE with over 267,000 firms operating in various sectors.”
Sharing his personal experience with the chief minister, he said, “I met chief minister Naidu back in Davos. It took me five minutes, and I met a visionary leader who said, ‘Come to Andhra, I’ll show you Andhra Pradesh the way it should be.’ This was January; today we’re in July - six months down the line, here we are.”
The UAE minister expressed confidence in AP potential: “We are confident that Andhra Pradesh can become a strategic node in the UAE-India Economic Corridor, from port connectivity and logistics to food security, AR research, and clean tech deployment.”
