Perception about India has changed in UAE, trade between two countries reached $80 billion, says Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday said that the perception about India has changed in the UAE and trade between the two countries today has reached about 80 billion dollars.

Addressing a gathering at an event in Surat on Monday, Jaishankar said, “In the last 10 years, the perception about India has changed in the UAE. They signed a free trade agreement with us and today the trade with the UAE has reached about 80 billion dollars… Our request to build a temple there has been accepted…PM Narendra Modi went to UAE in 2016 and the last PM to go to UAE was Indira Gandhi and after her, no PM went there till 2016…”

He said today India is in the top five economies and very soon it will be the third-largest economy in the world.

“You all know whose guarantee this is. We have full confidence that in the next 25 years, we will make India a $30 trillion economy…,” added the external affairs minsiter.

Talking about the pace of development in the country, Jaishankar also shared an anecdote when he went to receive French President Emmanuel Macron at Jaipur airport.

“When French President Emmanuel Macron visited India on Republic Day, I welcomed him at Jaipur airport. It was his first visit to Jaipur and he said I see that you have other airports besides the airports of big cities. I said Mr President, you should also know that in the last 10 years, 8-9 new airports are being built every year in this country. In 2014 there were 75 airports and today this number has doubled…,” added Jaishankar.

With inputs from agencies