March 25, 2007	Sunday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 5, 1428

DUBAI, March 24: The prime minister of the United Arab Emirates is expected to talk trade during a two-day visit to India that begins on Monday, the local press reported.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed al-Maktoum, also the ruler of the booming emirate of Dubai, will preside over the signing of several agreements aimed at enhancing trade ties between the two countries, the reports said.

India's exports to the UAE increased from $2.4 billion in 2001-2002 to more than $8.5 billion in 2005-2006, Indian Ambassador C.M. Bhandari told reporters earlier this week.

UAE non-oil exports to India surged from $915 million to $4.3 billion in the same period.

The UAE is a prime destination for Indian migrant workers. Their numbers in the private sector increased in 2006 to around 1.3 million, or 50 per cent of the total non-government labour force.

Official data put foreigners at 80 percent of the UAE's population of 4.1 million at the end of 2005.

Remittances from Indian workers in the UAE in 2006 were expected to reach six billion dollars, out of $20 billion anticipated from six million Indian workers in the countries of the oil-rich Gulf Cooperation Council.

India, which gets most of its oil from the Gulf, is negotiating a free trade agreement with GCC members Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.---AFP