Abu Dhabi: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Wednesday stepped up his investment outreach in UAE, with the Odisha delegation, International Holding Company (IHC) and Adani Group signing an agreement to explore 14 projects with an indicative investment of `2.1 lakh crore and employment potential for about 8.68 lakh people.

The agreement is the key outcome of the first day of substantive engagements led by Majhi as he sought to deepen partnership with UAE-based investors across metal, critical minerals, petrochemicals, renewable energy, healthcare and infrastructure sectors.

The proposed projects with IHC and Adani cover metal downstream industries, slurry pipelines, critical minerals and rare earth, chemicals and petrochemical derivatives, renewable energy equipment, healthcare, industrial infrastructure, tourism, skill development and sports infrastructure.

The agreement follows the earlier MoU signed on July 2, 2026 and expands the partnership beyond the proposed integrated aluminium project.

The chief minister held a roundtable with senior executives from IHC and its business verticals, including IHC CEO Syed Basar Shueb, Adani Ports and SEZ managing director Karan Adani and Adani Green Energy executive director Sagar Adani. Discussions also advanced the proposed integrated aluminium project with land identified for an alumina refinery in Kalyansinghpur tehsil of Rayagada district and an aluminium smelter in Sadar tehsil of Sundargarh district.

Majhi held a separate meeting with Borouge CEO Hazeem Sultan Al Suwaidi and invited the UAE-based petrochemical major to explore setting up a large-scale chemicals downstream complex in Odisha, potentially linked to feedstock from Indian Oil Corporation’s proposed naphtha cracker at Paradip.

The state also signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Indian Business and Professional Group (IBPG) to promote bilateral trade and investment. Discussions covered exports of Odisha products such as turmeric, ginger and seafood, contract manufacturing for UAE brands and opportunities for highly-skilled manpower.

Entrepreneurs from Odisha also participated and shared their perspectives on expanding business partnerships, strengthening market linkages and enhancing access to the UAE market.

At another roundtable with UAE-based investment institutions, Majhi showcased Odisha’s infrastructure projects available for development through public-private partnerships. He focused on institutional investment, project evaluation and long-term investment opportunities, including infrastructure and port development.

The roundtable brought together senior representatives from leading UAE-based investment and business institutions including divisional director IFC, GCC, Abdulha Zeini Jafri, head of Quantitative Research Development IRH Global Trending, Giulio Occhuonereo and managing director of Elliptic FZ, Francesca Maria.