Addressing a news conference organised by Flydubai airline here to announce the launch of Dubai-Hyderabad flights, the ambassador stressed the need for more direct flights between destinations in the UAE and India.
He said the UAE was a very significant trading partner for India and contributed substantially to the Indian economy. The annual trade between the two countries grew from $180 million in the 1970s to $43.4 billion last year, he said.
According to the envoy, the UAE has invested an estimated $6 billion in India. The UAE has about 1.8 million Indian expatriates, he said. Flydubai CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith noted that India was the number one trading partner of Dubai. He underlined the need for India to have a more effective open sky policy as it would lead to increased trade.
Pointing out that there were 13 destinations between India and the UAE and that Hyderabad was the only second destination for the airline, he said Flydubai was in talks with the Indian government to add more routes.
“If the Indian government wants to promote destinations other than the existing 13, we are ready to operate our flights,” he said.
