The UAE has emerged as one of India’s strongest allies ever since the Modi government came to power. As per an agreement signed between the governments of Dubai, and Jammu and Kashmir, to facilitate more investments, Emaar Properties is all set to build a shopping mall in Srinagar.
A massive blow to Pakistan by UAE
Reportedly, the project ‘Mall of Srinagar’ by Emaar will be about 5,00,000 sqft in size. Mohamed Alabbar, the founder of Emaar, reported that “We wish to bring a world-class mall experience to residents of Jammu and Kashmir and the tourist inflows, which are likely to increase exponentially. Emaar is also considering other investments into real estate, hospitality and mixed-use commercial and residential projects in Jammu and in Srinagar.”
Dr Ahmed Abdul Rahman Albanna, UAE Ambassador to India, asserted, “UAE and India are comprehensive strategic partners and this project by Emaar will be a landmark of Jammu and Kashmir. I would like to congratulate Emaar and all the partners on this project and am sure we will see many such projects coming up in the near future. UAE and India’s economic partnership is at an inflection point and we will invite other UAE investors to look at this opportunity too.”
Dr. Aman Puri, Consul General of India in Dubai, also stated, “Government of Dubai and Government of Jammu and Kashmir are committed to faster tracking investments, and this project is deeply aligned with the vision to furthering trade and investment relationship between the two countries. Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has created a very attractive investment landscape, and this FDI project is a reflection of the close brotherly relations between UAE and India. We are looking forward to several projects being announced in the near future and significant employment opportunities being created in the process.”
UAE’s Kashmir infra push
Dubai, a part of the United Arab Emirates, signed the memorandum of understanding with India to ramp up infrastructure investment in Jammu and Kashmir, which includes industrial parks, a medical college, a speciality hospital, logistic centres, IT and multi-purpose towers.
Read more: UAE’s Kashmir infra push is a massive blow to Pakistan’s nefarious design
With this agreement, UAE became the first foreign government to invest in the region after the abrogation of article 370 in Kashmir and the division of the Muslim-majority state into two territories directly ruled from New Delhi.
UAE’s infra push in Kashmir can be seen as the victory of India when it comes to diplomatic terms with the other countries as the former has side-lined its fellow member of OIC, that is, Pakistan to better its relations with India.