Prime Minister Narendra Modi was recently on a two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
During this time, while he inaugurated the first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi, he along with Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum laid the foundation stone of ‘Bharat Mart’ in Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Trade Zone.
Bharat Mart will be a trade center built on one lakh square land which will provide an effective platform for Indian MSME companies to reach out to international buyers.
What is Bharat Mart, what will it do?
This project is being considered as a big step towards fulfilling the dreams of self-reliant India. This project is expected to be completed and put into operation by 2025.
It will be produced by DP World. The Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement that this Mart will provide an effective platform for the products of India’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) to reach international buyers in the Gulf, West Asia, Africa and Eurasia regions and promote their exports. Will play an important role in promotion.
This mart is being built close to Jebel Ali port, which will provide warehouse facilities to Indian companies there. India will further expand bilateral trade by leveraging its strategic location and its strength in logistics in the region.
This warehouse facility center will have retail showrooms, offices and warehouses of Indian MSME companies, from where Indian MSME companies will have easier access to international buyers.
Easy access for MSME companies to the West
It is being said that Bharat Mart will prove to be a boon for those MSME companies who want to supply their products to America, Europe, West Asia and other western countries.
This will reduce their export expenses and Indian producers will be able to showcase many products under one roof at Bharat Mart.
Why is China in tension?
There is Dragon Mart, an international trading center for products of Chinese companies in Dubai itself. This mart, made in the shape of a dragon, is filled with products of Chinese companies.
It is built on 1 lakh 50 thousand square meters, where there are about 4000 retail shops. Now Dragon Mart-2 has also opened next to it, where facilities of restaurant, hotel and cinema hall have been made available.
China has come under tension after the foundation stone of the state-of-the-art Bharat Mart was laid in the same city. This mart will come into operation by 2025.
In fact, India and UAE have decided to increase the import-export of non-petroleum products to more than Rs 8.3 lakh crore by 2030. In this direction, Bharat Mart will prove to be effective for other countries including the United Arab America.
China is worried that if Bharat Mart comes into operation, then not only will Chinese goods face competition in the foreign market, but Indian products will capture the markets of Mid-East, Central Asia, Europe and other western countries.