The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is set to make a historic two-day visit to India, beginning on Sunday, September 9th. This maiden visit, amidst escalating tensions in West Asia, will see the Crown Prince engaging in wide-ranging discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has announced that the visit will further cement the strong ties between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), paving the way for enhanced partnership in emerging fields.
During the visit, Prime Minister Modi and the Crown Prince are scheduled to hold talks on Sunday, covering a broad spectrum of bilateral cooperation. Beyond bilateral matters, the leaders are anticipated to deliberate on the evolving situation arising from the Israel-Hamas conflict. Additionally, the visiting leader will meet with President Droupadi Murmu and pay tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat. Accompanying the Crown Prince will be several ministers from the UAE government and a prominent business delegation.
Following his engagements in Delhi, Al Nahyan will travel to Mumbai on Monday, where he will participate in a business forum aimed at fostering economic ties between the two nations. This forum will bring together top business leaders from both India and the UAE.
The MEA highlighted the robust growth of bilateral cooperation between India and the UAE in recent years. “India and UAE share historically close and friendly ties. In recent years, the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between India and the UAE has deepened in a wide range of areas including political, trade, investment, connectivity, energy, technology, education, and culture,” the MEA stated.
Since Prime Minister Modi’s landmark visit to the UAE in August 2015, bilateral relations have progressed to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Both nations have signed significant agreements, including the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in February 2022 and the Local Currency Settlement (LCS) System in July 2023, aimed at promoting the use of the Indian Rupee and AED (United Arab Emirates Dirham) for cross-border transactions.
India and the UAE are among each other’s top trading partners, with bilateral trade reaching approximately USD 85 billion in 2022-23. The UAE consistently ranks among the top four investors in India in terms of foreign direct investments. A robust Indian community, exceeding 3.5 million individuals, forms the largest expatriate group in the UAE.
Reflecting the growing strategic partnership, the UAE was invited as a special guest during India’s Presidency of the G20. In February 2023, the India-UAE-France (UFI) trilateral was formally launched. With India’s active support, the UAE joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) as a dialogue partner in May 2023 and became a member of BRICS in January 2024. The India-UAE defense cooperation has also gained momentum, with the first India-UAE bilateral army exercise ‘Desert Cyclone’ held in Rajasthan in January 2024.
