Assocham launches Gulf Cooperation Council Chapter in Dubai

DUBAI: India's industry body Assocham has launched its Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Chapter in Dubai to attract businesses from the region and capitalise on the new government's 'Make-in-India' initiative.

The Assocham GCC Chapter was launched here yesterday with an aim to develop vibrant economic, social and cultural bonds between India and the GCC nations.

The Chapter has been mandated to extend a conducive and enabling platform to Indian and GCC business communities to engage and explore investment opportunities in each other's regions.

Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are the member states of GCC.

"To actualise the vision of 'Make in India' as articulated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Assocham as part of its globalisation campaign, is proud to launch its GCC Chapter to strengthen India's footprint, promote trade and investment and position India as the No 1 preferred investment destination for GCC nations," said Assocham's President Rana Kapoor.

The launch took place with an interactive session with Kapoor, who is the founding CEO of YES Bank. The theme of the session was, 'Actualising Economic Security of India: Towards realising the Vision of Make in India'.

Kapoor said the GCC region is home to one of the largest Indian communities outside India and is amongst the largest trading partners and a major source of FDI, but the full potential of the relationship is yet to be fully realised.

In an attempt to take forward the Government's vision of 'Make-in-India', Assocham is expanding globally through international offices in UAE as well as other partner countries to invite multinational businesses to be a part of India's economic transformation.

The Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India is already present in 14 key international geographies including China, Russia, UK, Japan and USA.

It has also signed MoUs to set up partnerships with Business Chambers in more than 75 countries.