More than 1,000 participants from over 20 countries, including a delegation from the UAE, are attending the ongoing 13th Global Summit on Small and Medium Enterprises in New Delhi, India.

It is being held under the theme ‘Global Partnerships in Small and Medium Enterprises to Promote Sustainable Growth.’

The UAE participated in the opener as a partner country and joined a special panel discussion on major partnership opportunities in the emirate's SMEs sector, said a statement from the organisers.

The UAE delegation is being headed by Abdullah Bin Ahmed Al Saleh, undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy for Foreign Trade and Industry.

During his opening speech, Al Saleh emphasised the strong historical ties between the UAE and India at all economic and cultural levels.

He pointed out that India was the largest trading partner of the UAE, which in turn was the third largest foreign partner of India, it added.

Indian investments in the UAE have reached more than $6 billion so far – the third largest for the country – while the UAE is India’s 10th largest foreign investor and the region’s first, he added.

Pointing to several indicators of the strong ties between the two countries, Al Saleh said: "Indians comprise the largest expat community living and working in the UAE at around 2.5 million, with their annual volume of remittances estimated at $12 billion."

Al Saleh clarified that the most prominent sectors for joint investments between the two countries include construction, energy, information technology, and services.

According to him, the SME sector comprises over 90 per cent of the companies operating in the UAE and India, making it a top priority for the two countries.

The emirates values this sector due to its relevance in promoting a diversified economy based on knowledge.

He pointed out that the UAE had set a goal to increase the contribution of SMEs to the national GDP to 70 per cent by 2021.

SMEs are of great importance in promoting economic growth as they play key roles in providing new jobs, promoting innovation, and spurring exports, he added. – TradeArabia News Service