The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Friday said it was keen to invest in the Indian petroleum sector as part of efforts to further boost trade ties between the two countries.

The overtures were made during bilateral talks between UAE Energy Minister Mohammed bin Dhaen al-Hamli and India's Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar.

Al-Hamli, who was here to attend the first Asian ministerial roundtable of major oil producers and consumers Thursday, told journalists after his meeting with Aiyar: "We have taken a view to strengthen our bilateral relations, to improve trade ties with India."

He said that India was a very important market for the UAE.

"Opportunities for joint ventures were discussed during our talks. The UAE is looking for opportunity in downstream sectors (like refining and petrochemicals). We are open to any investment opportunity (in India). We want to invest in the total system downstream."

Import-dependent India, which sources 70 percent of its requirements of crude oil from overseas, gets 8.34 million tonnes of crude from the UAE.