United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrived in India on Monday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself broke the protocol and reached there to receive him at the airport. During this, both the leaders warmly hugged each other and left the airport in the same car.
There is a lot of discussion about the timing of Sheikh Nahyan’s 2-hour visit to India. His visit to India is taking place at a time when the threat of American attack on Iran has averted and India has been invited to join the Gaza Board of Peace.
A statement from the Ministry of External Affairs said that the UAE President’s visit to India is taking place on the invitation of PM Modi. The statement said, ‘This is His Excellency’s third official visit to India after becoming the President of the UAE and his fifth visit to India in the last decade.’
The Foreign Ministry said that a meeting between the two countries is scheduled for Monday evening. According to the ministry, the visit of the UAE President to India will provide an opportunity to both the leaders to take the India-UAE Strategic Partnership further. During this visit, both the leaders will talk about regional and global issues of mutual interest.
What issues were discussed between the two leaders?
According to people familiar with the UAE President’s visit to India, trade and investment, cooperation in defense industry and energy-related initiatives are expected to be prominently included in the agenda of the talks between PM Modi and Sheikh Nahyan. This information has been given in a report by news agency PTI.
Sheikh Al Nahyan reached Delhi around 4.30 pm. It is being told that his conversation with PM Modi started at 4.45 pm and he will leave from New Delhi at around 6 pm. In this way, this visit of the UAE President will last for about two hours.
Why is the two-hour tour so special?
This visit of the UAE President is taking place at a time when India and UAE are rapidly expanding their mutual cooperation in both civil and military sectors. Earlier this month, on January 4, Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi had visited UAE with the aim of strengthening defense cooperation and military relations. During this, he was given a guard of honor by the UAE Army.
General Dwivedi also interacted with the senior leadership of the UAE Armed Forces, including the Commander of the UAE Army. He visited major military establishments of the UAE, interacted with officers and soldiers.
A month before this, on December 15, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had visited UAE, where he participated in the 16th India-UAE Joint Commission Meeting and the fifth round of India-UAE Strategic Dialogue. These meetings were co-chaired by Jaishankar and UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
India-UAE strong relations
There are multidimensional relations between India and UAE. Both countries are among each other’s top trade partners, which has been strengthened by the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
Apart from CEPA, the Local Currency Settlement System (LCS) and Bilateral Investment Treaty have also promoted trade and investment cooperation.
UAE is the seventh largest investor in India. Since 2000, foreign direct investment (FDI) from UAE into India has been more than $22 billion. The energy sector remains a major pillar of the relations between the two countries. Apart from crude oil, UAE supplies liquefied natural gas to India.
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