Ducab India signs first bilateral partnership in the power sector with Emirates NBD India: Driving diversification, boosting national economies, and increasing non-oil trade

3 Min | 23 January 2024

Dubai, UAE - 23 January 2024: Ducab Group, one of the biggest end-to-end energy solutions providers and manufacturing firms in the United Arab Emirates, represented by Ducab India, has signed the first bilateral partnership with Emirates NBD, a leading banking group in the MENAT (Middle East, North Africa, and Türkiye) region, to support the Group’s objectives to expand its reach and support the economies of both countries.

The agreement is in line with the UAE’s strategy to continuously diversify the national economy and increase non-oil trade with international commercial partners. India consistently ranks among the UAE’s largest global trade partners.

The new partnership builds on Ducab’s recent milestones in the Indian market, where the Group recently took steps to enhance its footprint in the subcontinent and turn it into a new home market with an office in Bengaluru, which opened in early 2023, making it Ducab’s first office in India and southeast Asia.

His Excellency Abdulnasser Jamal Alshaali, UAE Ambassador to the Republic of India said: “The UAE and India have long shared robust bilateral trade ties, which have received a significant added boost in recent years with the UAE’s push to expand its global network and diversify its economy, where ‘Expanding the UAE’s International Economic Partnerships’ was strongly promoted as one of the five top government priorities for 2023. Ducab’s growing operations in India, and particularly this new partnership agreement with Emirates NBD – another ‘National Champion’ company in the UAE – unmistakably underlines the key role that the Group, and national companies in general, play in accomplishing the UAE’s strategic national and global objectives.”

Mohammad Almutawa, Group CEO at Ducab, said: “This new bilateral partnership that we have signed with Emirates NBD India is an extension of our existing robust partnership with the Emirates NBD Group, which has enabled both entities to grow together across various markets. It also builds on our recent tremendous progress in the Indian market, underpinned by our newly opened office in Bengaluru, which was planned to further strengthen our operations and presence in the region, and establish Ducab as a leading global provider of high-quality integrated energy solutions.”

Ahmed Al Qassim, Group Head of Wholesale Banking at Emirates NBD, said “At Emirates NBD, we remain fully committed to supporting and nurturing the growth ambitions of our clients. Our international presence, especially in key trade corridors, equips us to effectively support our clients' expansion plans with a comprehensive and robust array of cutting-edge solutions. This capability is further bolstered by our deep understanding of our clients’ business needs, drawing upon Emirates NBD’s rich heritage and long-standing client relationships. Our enduring relationship with Ducab, culminating in the partnership we have announced today, stands as a testament to this capability.

We also recognise the vast opportunities presented by India's dynamic and evolving business landscape, which is why it is a key priority market for the group in the coming years. As our clients’ most valuable and dependable banking partner, we look forward to unlocking these new opportunities and facilitating their future growth journeys in the region.”

Meanwhile, Meshal Al Naqbi, Group CFO at Ducab, said: “Ducab has long had strong relations with leading Indian industries. The group imports 25% of its materials from India and serves more than 100 clients in the country, providing 263,000 metric tons of copper equivalent, comparable to powering 3 million houses, in addition to employing more than 1,000 Indian nationals.”

The agreement also follows landmark agreements signed between the two countries, most notably, the UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), designed to enable businesses to invest and expand their operations, drive cross-border trade, and build new partnerships, as well as the historic Memorandum of Understanding signed between the UAE and India regarding the Local Currency Settlement (LCS) system, which allows for the use of the Indian Rupee and UAE Dirham in bilateral trade – India’s first arrangement of this kind.

Ducab and Emirates NBD have maintained a strong partnership for more than 20 years, which has played an instrumental role in both parties’ growth and expansion in various export markets, in line with the UAE’s strategic directives.

Ducab provides a wide range of high-quality solutions to the global energy sector and exports 60% of its products to more than 55 markets across the Gulf, Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas.

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