New Delhi: UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan will visit India on December 12 during which the two sides are expected to ink the Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPA), which was cleared by the union cabinet here today. “India-UAE (BIPA) has been approved by the Cabinet,” sources said.
Later, an External Affairs release said it was expected that an agreement on BIPA will be signed during the stay of the visiting UAE dignitary while noting that the “well-balanced” bilateral trade has crossed USD 74 billion during 2012-13.
The decision to approve India-UAE BIPA comes within weeks of the government approving the Jet-Etihad Airways deal. Under the agreement, UAE-based Etihad Airways would be investing about USD 379 million to pick up 24 per cent stake in the domestic carrier.
The UAE-based airlines wanted India to sign the BIPA before executing the transaction to avert the crisis witnessed in case of Etisalat's telecom investment. UAE telecom major Etisalat had to shut its operations following cancellation of several telecom licences by the Supreme Court in 2012 in connection with the 2G spectrum allocation scam.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram during his visit to Dubai in May had discussed the issues related to the BIPA with the UAE leaders.
According to External Affairs Ministry, the UAE is the tenth largest investor in India in terms of foreign direct investments and contributes significantly to India's energy security by being the fifth largest supplier of crude oil. “During the visit, the two sides will discuss bilateral, regional and other issues of mutual interest,” MEA said.
