This edition of the UAE–India CEPA Council Newsletter spotlights a defining quarter in the UAE–India innovation partnership, marked by the overwhelming success of the UAE–India Start-up Series. Drawing over 10,000 applications from across India, the initiative underscores the country’s entrepreneurial dynamism and the UAE’s position as a global hub for innovation and opportunity. The issue highlights insights from the UICC Roadshows held across major Indian cities, where new partnerships were formalised with leading incubators and universities including IIT Bombay, IIM Bangalore, and TiE Delhi-NCR—expanding the foundations of the UAE–India innovation corridor.
It explores the UAE’s rapidly evolving innovation ecosystem across key sectors such as clean technology, healthtech, deeptech, and agri-tech, and the growing alignment between both nations’ strategic priorities. In the “Business in Focus” section, it profiles Future Shift Labs, a pioneering organisation at the intersection of technology and governance, advancing ethical AI and responsible innovation as it expands into the UAE. The issue also features milestone developments including India–UAE trade surpassing USD 100 billion under CEPA, the inauguration of IIM Ahmedabad’s Dubai campus, and Ras Al Khaimah’s partnership with the Start-up Series. Together, these stories reaffirm CEPA’s role as a catalyst for innovation, entrepreneurship, and a shared vision for sustainable growth between the UAE and India.
