Celebrating the first year of the India-UAE CEPA, the Gem and Jewelery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) unveiled the India Jewelery Exposition Center (IJEX), a 365-day exhibition platform in Dubai.
IJEX is the performance venue in Dubai located in the new Gold Souk in Deira.
It will be a platform for MSME jewelers to showcase their indigenous products in the Middle East market on regular continuous basis.
As the West Asia market accounts for 30% of India’s gems and jewelery exports, IJEX will enable India’s MSME manufacturers to take advantage of the India-UAE CEPA to expand in the Wana region.
With the CEPA, India-UAE trade is set to grow by 16% to reach $84.5 billion in FY 2022-23 from $72.9 billion in the previous year.
Of this, India’s exports to the UAE grew by 11.8% to $31.3 billion, with the gems and jewelery sector in particular accounting for an impressive 16.54% growth of $5.77 billion.
Rajesh Kumar Singh, Secretary, DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India said, “CEPA is one of the most ambitious agreements. The depth and range of market access and the services it provides is unprecedented, benefiting all stakeholders. India’s exports to the UAE have crossed $30 billion, with gems and jewelery and plastics benefiting from low-cost inputs.
“GJEPC has set up IJEX and I see tremendous value in such initiatives. CEPA will accelerate the pace of trade and is expected to transform the scale and scope of the bilateral partnership,” he said.
Vipul Shah, Chairman, GJEPC, said, “The gems and jewelery sector is one of the industries that has benefitted greatly from CEPA. India’s exports in this sector are set to reach USD 5.77 billion in 2022-23 with an impressive growth of 16.54% over the previous year.
“I am sure the Indian jewelery industry will make the most of this opportunity and soon take gems and jewelery exports to the UAE to $10 billion, the pre-COVID level. With continued support and cooperation, we can take our bilateral trade relations to newer heights and achieve greater success.