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Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, president and CEO of Dubai Chambers, addressed strengthening economic relations between Dubai and India at the Economic Times World Leaders Forum held in New Delhi on August 21 and 22. The session, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with international investors and executives, featured Lootah presenting updated bilateral data that illustrated sustained momentum across trade and investment channels. Dubai Chambers data places non-oil trade between Dubai and India at a record AED222.5 billion for 2025, reflecting 15 percent annual growth while marking a 136.2 percent rise over the past decade from AED94.2 billion in 2016, which has solidified India’s standing as Dubai’s second-largest trading partner.
Lootah told forum participants that the partnership continues to diversify in response to business demands in both markets, with increasing emphasis on future-oriented fields such as Agentic AI and the digital economy. The UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which entered into force in May 2022, has played a central role in advancing these ties by improving market access and fostering new forms of collaboration, according to the chamber’s assessment shared at the event. Coverage from The Economic Times of the broader forum discussions underscored ambitions to elevate overall UAE-India trade toward a $200 billion target by 2032, building on recent gains that have already pushed annual flows past $100 billion.
Investment activity has mirrored the trade expansion, with Dubai Chambers figures showing that Dubai drew roughly AED32.3 billion in cumulative Indian investments from 2016 through 2025, including AED8.4 billion in foreign direct investment during 2025 alone. Over the same period, Dubai-based companies directed AED34.1 billion into 147 projects across India, an effort that generated 55,274 jobs in the country. These flows demonstrate the maturing financial interdependence that now complements traditional merchandise exchanges.
The growing presence of Indian enterprises in Dubai further reflects this confidence, as 7,579 new Indian companies registered with the Dubai Chamber of Commerce in the first half of 2026. That influx lifted the total number of active Indian member companies to 85,841 by the end of June, equivalent to 15 percent year-on-year growth, Dubai Chambers reported. Lootah said, “The confidence of the Indian business community in the growth opportunities offered by Dubai is reflected in the 7,579 new Indian companies that joined Dubai Chamber of Commerce during the first half of this year. These figures demonstrate that Indian companies increasingly view Dubai as a global hub from which to develop their international operations and expand their investments. They also reflect the Indian business community’s strong confidence in Dubai and its future growth prospects.”
Dubai offers Indian firms a strategic platform supported by superior infrastructure, worldwide connectivity and direct access to customers and capital across the Middle East, Africa and other regions, Lootah explained at the New Delhi gathering. The chamber’s breakdown of its Indian membership shows trade and services accounting for 45 percent of active companies, with real estate, leasing and business services at 27.3 percent and construction representing 19 percent. These sectoral concentrations illustrate how the community has embedded itself across key segments of Dubai’s economy.
The Economic Times World Leaders Forum provided a platform for such updates as part of wider conversations on building an integrated India-UAE growth corridor that extends into technology, talent and capital flows. Lootah’s presentation aligned with separate reporting by the publication in which he advocated for Indian companies to use Dubai as a base for scaling operations globally. Dubai Chambers continues to track these developments through its membership data and periodic economic briefings.
