Tamil Nadu Minister for Industries T. R .B. Rajaa on Wednesday said the State government was eager to collaborate with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on agriculture, food security, and value-added support.
In his keynote address at the ‘Investopia Global’, an international conference with Tamil Nadu and the UAE, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry, Mr. Rajaa said, “Tamil Nadu’s strengths lie in electronics, solar and wind power, manufacturing, and space technology, along with a burgeoning startup and accelerator ecosystem. To kickstart our collaboration, we plan to form a working group to advance initiatives like Investopia.”
“We are particularly focused on emerging sectors such as space technology and quantum computing, which, surprisingly, are not receiving much attention yet. Another key area for investment is Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Though Tamil Nadu leads in SDG achievements, we see lack of investment in this sector. We need more investment in this sector as our State has many opportunities to offer.”
Enhancing ‘value addition’ would open the doors to the UAE as a substantial market and extend beyond to include the Middle East and the African market in the future, he said. He added that people-to-people ties with the UAE were another important aspect of the relationship, apart from being India’s third largest trading partner and among the top four in terms of quality direct investments.
“We are proud to have a strong presence of Indian businesses in the UAE. The UAE has committed itself to providing a conducive environment for Indian businesses,” he said.
