'Our aspiration is to be the world's number one startup destination. The startup bug has caught India's imagination,' Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs & Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, has said.
Addressing a session, 'Gateway to Growth - Roundtable on Indian Startup Ecosystem' in Abu Dhabi, the Minister said that presently India is the third-largest startup ecosystem. The entire innovation ecosystem that the startup industry represents is giving a new direction, new momentum to India.
He said that India offers a special blend between investors and entrepreneurs to achieve a balanced outcome and achieve a win-win solution. Appreciating the promotion of 700 Indian startups at the EXPO2020 Dubai, he emphasised that the startups need to experiment, fail and learn from their experiences.
On the government's role in promoting startups, the Minister said that India needs to provide the level playing and best business ecosystem to the startups.
The government has recently finalised the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the UAE, which is expected to further enhance bilateral trade, B2B engagement and explore attractive investment opportunities, he said.
'I can assure you that we will take this partnership to newer heights in the areas of sustainability, aerospace, space technology, connectivity, AI, data analytics, 5G, Metaverse and others. We look forward to leveraging each other's offerings and expertise,' Goyal added.
The Roundtable on the Indian Startup Ecosystem was co-chaired by the, Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, UAE Minister of State for Entrepreneurship & SMEs, Dr Thani Zeyoudi, Minister for International Trade and Mohamed Al Sharaf, Chairman, Abu Dhabi Economic Development Department.
Besides representatives of ADGM, ADQ, Mubadala, Masdar, ADIO, AD Residents Office, G42, Hub71, Ardent Advisory, and Chimera Investment also participated in the session.