SM Krishna visits UAE, deals on double taxation, consular issues

Some key agreements on double taxation and consular issues are to be signed during the visit of External Affairs Minister SM Krishna to the UAE from Saturday during which he will also co-chair the 10th session of the India-UAE Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation.

The UAE side will be led by Sheikh Abdulla Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Foreign Minister.

The last session of the Joint Commission was held in 2007 in New Delhi.

Noting some key agreements on double taxation and consular issues are to be inked, Ministry of External Affairs said India’s bilateral trade with the UAE in 2010-2011 was estimated at USD 67 billion and is likely to increase further.

"India and UAE were each other’s largest trade partners in 2010-2011. The UAE is a significant investor in India in terms of FDI. These investments are largely concentrated in energy, services, programming, construction and tourism and hotels," it said.

Several prominent private and public sector Indian companies and banks are operating in the UAE.

Both countries have regular exchange of dialogue in the field of defence. There have been goodwill visits of Indian Navy ships to the UAE from time-to-time. In recent years, bilateral defence cooperation has been strengthened.

The UAE is home to an Indian expatriate community of more than 1.75 million, the largest expatriate community in the UAE, MEA said.

During his visit, Krishna will also interact with Heads of Indian Missions in the region at a conference convened in Abu Dhabi.