MENA Newswire, ABU DHABI: The UAE–India Business Council has launched a 2026 programme aimed at strengthening institutional and commercial cooperation between the United Arab Emirates and India, building on expanding ties under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. The council said the new agenda is designed to connect public and private sector priorities through policy work, sector engagement and targeted business outreach, with an emphasis on practical initiatives that support trade, investment and innovation links.
The council outlined three pillars for 2026: knowledge building, strategic facilitation and direct engagement. Knowledge building will focus on research and policy papers across priority areas that include artificial intelligence, infrastructure cooperation, sovereign wealth fund approaches, consumer trends and supply chain integration. Strategic facilitation is intended to deepen dialogue between decision makers and business leaders, while direct engagement will center on delegations and sector-led exchanges involving companies and institutions in both countries.
The programme also highlights collaboration across advanced manufacturing, clean energy, financial technology, healthcare innovation and infrastructure. The council said its engagements will involve structured forums and meetings to help companies identify partnership opportunities, address operational frictions and develop cross-border projects aligned with national development goals. It also noted an interest in supporting joint initiatives in Africa as part of broader UAE–India economic and investment activity on the continent.
Government and business cooperation underpins the council’s work, with senior leaders in both countries playing central roles in shaping the broader bilateral agenda. The UAE’s President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi have overseen a sustained expansion in high-level engagement, including trade and investment frameworks and sector-specific cooperation. The council positions its programme as a business-facing platform that supports those state-level priorities through implementation-oriented collaboration.
Bilateral agenda underpinned by CEPA
In 2025, the council held the inaugural India–UAE: Partners in Progress Conclave, bringing together policymakers, investors and corporate leaders to review progress in commercial cooperation and identify sector opportunities. It also hosted engagements in Dubai that included discussions with India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, focusing on trade facilitation and industry priorities. The council said these engagements helped align business participation with the policy architecture that has accelerated bilateral commerce since CEPA entered into force.
The council cited specific initiatives supported during the previous year, including progress linked to the UAE–India Friendship Hospital project and education-focused efforts such as the DREAM School initiative in Kashmir. It also framed its 2026 agenda as a continuation of practical collaboration designed to advance shared economic goals through projects that bring together government stakeholders, companies and social-sector partners. The council said it will continue to convene stakeholders to track execution and encourage measurable outcomes.
The 2026 programme includes planned participation in major policy and investment convenings, including the World Governments Summit 2026. The council said it will contribute perspectives drawn from its research and private sector networks, with an aim of translating strategic priorities into implementable business activity. It described its role as a bridge between policy direction and commercial delivery, using structured dialogues and sector coordination to support cross-border initiatives.
Focus sectors and implementation track
Across its sector work, the council said it will emphasize cooperation that supports industrial competitiveness and innovation, including technology deployment, resilient supply chains and capital partnerships. It said engagements will include exchanges among corporate leaders, investors and regulators to address barriers and develop pathways for collaboration in fast-growing segments. The council also noted that delegated missions and policy dialogues will be used to expand market access, share best practices and deepen links between institutions that govern trade and investment.
The council’s 2026 programme is the latest formal step in an expanding relationship shaped by sustained top-level engagement between Abu Dhabi and New Delhi. It is structured to consolidate momentum from recent years by organizing research, dialogue and business engagement into a single calendar of activity. The council said the programme will be implemented through a series of reports, forums and direct engagements intended to strengthen cooperation across strategic sectors central to the UAE and India’s economic partnership.