Sharjah: The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), represented by the Sharjah Exports Development Centre (SEDC), has successfully concluded its trade mission to India. The mission featured a series of business meetings and discussions with key officials from economic entities in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. These meetings were held alongside the Business Forum organized by the Sharjah Chamber in Ahmedabad, marking the second stop of the mission.
According to Emirates News Agency, the forum aimed to explore opportunities for strengthening economic partnerships and enhancing industrial and investment collaboration between Emirati and Indian private sector stakeholders. The event was attended by notable figures including Abdallah Sultan Al Owais, Chairman of SCCI, Waleed AbdelRahman BuKhatir, Second Vice Chairman of SCCI, and Jamal Mohamed Sultan Binhuwaidin, SCCI Board Member, alongside several Chamber staff. Business leaders, entrepreneurs, and private sector representatives from both Sharjah and Ahmedabad, a major industrial hub in India, also participated in the forum.
The forum's agenda featured focused B2B meetings and presentations highlighting investment opportunities across various economic sectors in Sharjah and Ahmedabad. Special emphasis was placed on Sharjah's business-friendly environment, world-class infrastructure, and investor incentives. The Sharjah Chamber showcased support services designed to help entrepreneurs scale operations and expand their global market reach.
In his keynote address, Al Owais emphasized that the Sharjah-India Business Forum in Ahmedabad is part of ongoing efforts to strengthen the economic and trade relations between the two countries. He highlighted that India's exports to the UAE totaled approximately US$37.1 billion in 2024 and noted that India ranked as the top destination for the UAE's non-oil exports, accounting for 13.5% of total exports with a record growth of 75.2% compared to 2023.
Al Owais expressed the mission's aim to convert positive momentum into fruitful partnerships between the UAE and India's business communities, particularly between Sharjah and Ahmedabad, to enhance economic and investment collaboration for joint growth. He highlighted Sharjah's position as a premier investment destination for Indian enterprises, with over 20,000 Indian companies headquartered in the emirate, showing increasing investor confidence in Sharjah's business climate.
He also noted Ahmedabad's strategic significance as one of India's vibrant industrial and economic powerhouses, pointing out that its business and industrial stakeholders could benefit from Sharjah's advanced industrial base, which hosts over 35% of the UAE's total manufacturing facilities.
During the second leg of their trade mission to India, the Sharjah Chamber delegation conducted on-site visits to several economic institutions in Ahmedabad. They gained insights into their business activities and service offerings, featuring discussions on potential cooperation areas, industrial integration, expertise exchange, and the adoption of best practices to establish investment partnerships serving the interests of both sides.
