Mumbai: Established in 1963, the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) will establish its first campus outside of India at the former Expo 2020 India Pavilion at the Expo City in Dubai. The campus will be a boon for the 3.5 million-strong Indian community residing in the UAE. It will also open doorways for the overseas expansion and recognition of the IIFT brand.
IIFT, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Commerce, has gained the deemed university status and is one of the premier business institutions in India focussing on foreign trade. It is regarded as an academic centre of excellence in international business research, training and education. It will collaborate with Expo City Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on research projects and other knowledge-sharing activities focused on sustainability and innovation. An MoU to this effect was signed on October 3, 2024, by Professor Rakesh Mohan Joshi, Vice Chancellor of IIFT and Reem Al Hashimy, UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation and CEO of Expo City Dubai Authority. IIFT is likely to move into its premises by early 2025 with short and medium-term training programmes, research and eventually with launch of its flagship programme, MBA (International Business).
The MoU between IIFT and Dubai EXPO City builds on a range of bilateral agreements between India and the UAE, including a mechanism to settle trade in local currencies, the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), the Bilateral Investment Treaty and others. On September 2, 2024, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, inaugurated the campus of IIT Delhi – Abu Dhabi with its first B Tech Course.
Congratulating the institute, Union Commerce Minister, Piyush Goyal said that IIFT’s new campus in Dubai would be a landmark decision in transforming it into a world-class institute in a real sense. Moreover, with IIFT’s expertise in the area of foreign trade, it would provide opportunities for students, professionals and government officials not only from UAE but from other parts of the world too for training and research in the area of international trade.
Commerce Secretary and Chancellor of the Institute, Sunil Barthwal, said that the institute’s offshore campus in Dubai would be a critical step not only for international expansion of IIFT but it would also facilitate promotion of international trade not only with UAE but also in the entire gulf region and beyond.
IIFT Vice Chancellor, Prof. Rakesh Mohan Joshi said that its first offshore campus in Dubai would be a milestone to transform IIFT into a world-class institute with cutting-edge research, training and academic programmes.
– global bihari bureau
