India tops Dubai trading partners' list

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DUBAI, Sept 8 (PTI) Pushing aside China to the second place, India has topped the list of Dubai's main trading partners during the first half of 2008. brThe bilateral trade volume of imports between India and Dubai has grown by 49.6 per cent, crossing USD 6.56 billion as against USD 4.38 billion, in the corresponding period last year, a report by Dubai World's Statistics Department has said. brIndia also topped among trading partners in exports, which was put at USD 2.26 billion, a growth rate of 44.4 per cent as compared to the first six months last year, the report said. brAlso, the report added that China moved to second place as the Dubai's trading partners but showed a growth rate of 29.9 per cent which was USD 6.48 billion as against last year's USD 4.98 billion. brThe United States stood at third place with a growth rate of 76.4 per cent. brMeanwhile, Dubai's non-oil direct foreign trade jumped by 54.3 per cent during the first half of 2008, as compared to the same period last year. brThis growth reflects the position Dubai now enjoys in global trade. Excellent development of infrastructure and reinforcement of its competitive potentials have helped Dubai become an attractive economic hub for investments in diverse areas, said Saeed Al Qaizi, the director of procurement, contracts and statistics, at the Dubai World.