The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will officially open its fourth diplomatic mission in India in the southern city of Hyderabad next month to meet long-standing demands for visas and to boost business ties, especially in information technology and healthcare.
Though the final arrangements are still being worked out, UAE’s minister of state for foreign affairs Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh is expected to open the consulate in Hyderabad on June 14, said consul general Aaref Alnuaimi. This will be the fourth mission after the embassy in New Delhi and consulates in Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram.
“We are opening the consulate in Hyderabad because of the demand of the visa section and the demand of the people who want to go to the UAE,” Alnuaimi said in an interview.
“Besides, UAE citizens visit Hyderabad for a lot of reasons, including studies and medical check-ups in hospitals. This is why our government thought it is better to open a mission in Hyderabad,” he said. The new consulate is expected to issue about 300 visas a day, including resident visas.
Asked about the reasons UAE citizens prefer to come to India for medical treatment, Alnuaimi said, “The relationship between the UAE citizens and Hyderabad is very old. And here in India, you have good doctors and hospitals. For these reasons, they are coming here.”
Alnuaimi, a career diplomat who has served in Iran, Yemen and Saudi Arabia and was named as the first consul general for Hyderabad in December 2021, said he will act as the link between UAE’s businesses and their counterparts in Hyderabad and Telangana.
“In terms of boosting business connections, we are focusing on two areas – information technology and healthcare,” he said.
Hyderabad and other parts of south India are becoming increasingly important for the UAE’s visa operations. “South India is a very big area and the demand [for visas] is also big here,” he added.
The UAE is currently home to more than 2.8 million Indian nationals, one of the largest concentrations of the diaspora in West Asia. Trade between the UAE and India is worth nearly $60 billion annually, and the Emirates are India’s third largest trading partner after the US and China. The UAE also accounts for 8% of India’s oil imports and is the fifth largest supplier of crude oil to the country.
Source- Hindustan Times.
