Indian Business and Professional Council (IBPC), announces that it will honour a number of UAE Nationals in their respective fields as part of its ongoing National Day celebrations at a formal ceremony that will be held at 18:30 hours on Monday, December 04, 2017, at the Le Meridien Hotel Dubai.

It was announced at a press meet addressed by H.E. Prof Richard Hay, member of Indian parliament and H.E. Shri Vipul, Consul General of India in Dubai and Bindu Suresh Chettur, President of IBPC. Dubai.

The move is part of IBPC’s constant endeavours to strengthen the bilateral relations between India and the UAE as well as strengthen its engagement with the UAE business communities.

UAE and India share age-old ties whose foundation lies in trade and investment. The annual two way trade between the two countries today stands at about $53 billion and the leadership of the two countries is committed to increase it by 60 per cent over the next 5 years. While India remains the UAE’s top trading partner, the UAE is India’s third largest trading partner.

The UAE is the 10^th largest FDI source market for India with cumulative FDI reaching US$4.76 billion in the last 17 years from April 2000 till March 2017. In October, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) announced a further Dh1 billion investment in India’s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF).

India and the UAE signed 14 agreements in January 2017 and it was envisioned that UAE would invest US$75 billion in to India. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and the Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, also set a target of 60 per cent increase in bilateral trade in the next five years.

Invest India, the foreign investment promotion body of India, said it will attract US$100 billion foreign investment in the country, of which US$85 billion has already been committed by 600 large businesses that will create 700,000 jobs, according to recent reports.

FDI inflows into India grew 8 per cent and touched a new high of $60.08 billion in 2016-17, according to Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). Cumulative FDI inflow from April 2000 till March 2017 reached US$484.35 billion.

Mirza Hussain Al Sayegh, Director of the Office of HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Minister of Finance and Deputy Ruler of Dubai, who is also a Patron of the IBPC, will be the Chief Guest at IBPC’s UAE National Day celebrations.

“As part of our on-going celebrations of the UAE National Day, the IBPC Board has decided to honour 11 distinguished personalities – who are inspiration to all of us,” Ms Bindu Suresh Chettur, President of the IBPC, said.

“This is the first such initiative by the IBPC and it is in line with our efforts to strengthen our close relationship with the UAE and Emirati brothers and sisters – who have welcomed Indian businesses, professionals and entrepreneurs with their both arms and helped the 2.6 million non-resident Indians (NRIs) make the UAE as our adopted home.

“India and the UAE are among each other’s largest trading partners and our latest initiative is in line to strengthen our close relationship with the UAE and Emiratis.”

IBPC is the largest business council in the UAE with membership exceeding 1,000 large business houses.