UAE keen to invest in green energy, tourism in Himachal
Abdulnasser Alshaali, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in India, met Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu here today and discussed potential investment opportunities with him.
The Chief Minister invited the UAE to invest in key sectors, including tourism and hospitality, green energy, dairy, food processing and data storage. The UAE Ambassador evinced keen interest in the tourism sector, particularly adventure sports and skiing. He said that the UAE had already identified potential locations for investment in the state and welcomed suggestions from the state government for additional sites.
Both parties agreed to accelerate progress in this direction and decided to appoint nodal officers to expedite the implementation of the projects. The Ambassador said that a technical team from the UAE would visit Himachal to assess the potential areas for investment.
The Chief Minister said, “Himachal, which has breathtaking landscapes, including vast snow-bound areas, hills and water bodies, offers unique investment opportunities. To enhance tourism infrastructure, the state government is developing multiple ropeways, expanding the Kangra airport and constructing new four-lane highways and heliports to improve connectivity to make Himachal a favourite destination for investment.”
He said, “Himachal Pradesh is on track to become a green energy state by next year. In the past two years, the state government has taken significant steps to protect the environment and harness green energy. These initiatives include setting up new solar power projects, developing six green corridors and replacing all state-owned diesel buses by electric buses in a phased manner.”
The Chief Minister said, “Himachal has 25 per cent of the hydropower electricity generation potential of the country and has tremendous opportunities to invest in green energy, including solar energy and pump storage projects.” He invited UAE firms to invest in food processing and cold storage facilities, smart city projects and modern urban planning in the state.
The UAE Ambassador said that his country was already involved in the green energy sector in India and expressed interest in collaborating with the state government in green energy projects. He also requested specific projects with the UAE for further coordination.
Industries Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan, Chief Minister’s Principal Adviser (IT and Innovation) Gokul Butail and Economic Affairs Specialist of UAE Rasheed Amiri were present on the occasion.
