Over the last few years, India and the United Arab Emirates’ growth story has moved from the confines of oil and gas and energy to other sectors such as banking and finance, education, tourism, aviation, agriculture, information technology and many more. Estimates put the bilateral trade figure around $60 billion.

As the two countries continue to expand their bilateral ties, there’s scope for more, made clear by the leaders of the two nations amid a series of meetings and bilateral summits over the years.

Infrastructure and Smart Cities are two areas which are witnessing an influx of investments.

Read: Putting food on the table- The making of UAE-India food corridor

Business Live Middle East takes a quick look at what’s in pipeline in these two sectors:

The Future

Smart cities are the living laboratories of the future. It uses technology, data and smart governance to improve the urban environment and help in reducing wastage.

The Indian government has rolled out the Smart Cities Mission to develop 100 cities across the country, with an aim to build better houses, better infrastructure, open spaces and so on. These cities will put India on the global landscape, driving the economic growth and improving the quality of life by enabling local development and harnessing technology as a means to create smart outcomes for citizens.

The UAE is among the first few nations of the world which incorporated the idea and has since developed impressive strategy to build these cities of the future. The country has long been leading the Middle East and North Africa region when it comes to developing smart cities. A recent global survey ranked Dubai and Abu Dhabi as the top smart cities in the region.

With the upcoming Dubai Expo 2020 – the first World Expo in the Middle East region – the city has the potential to become a blueprint for smart cities around the globe.

Investments

Over the last 12 months, 17 UAE-based firms confirmed their $75 billion investment in India’s infrastructure. EMAAR, a real estate company of Dubai Government, has been active in the real estate sector, setting up a major township, an international convention centre and a golf course in Hyderabad. It is now assisting in the emerging UAE-India Food Corridor, coordinating the proposed food parks coming up in Gujarat’s Kutchh, Maharashtra’s Aurangabad and Madhya Pradesh’s Pawarkheda region

Read: How UAE is likely to propel India’s $5-trillion economy target

UAE’s top port operator Dubai Ports (DP) World is already constructing port and warehouse facilities in India. It has partnered with India’s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) to create an investment platform to invest $3 billion in ports, terminals, transportation and logistics businesses in India.

There are also ongoing discussions in capacity building and joint research and development efforts in the railway sector.