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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on a two-nation go to final week. He travelled to Germany first for the G-7 assembly and, on his method again, he stopped within the United Arab Emirates. It was Modi’s fourth go to to the nation after visits in August 2015, February 2018, and August 2019. Based on the Ministry of Exterior Affairs (MEA), Modi was within the UAE to supply his private condolences on the passing of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the previous UAE president and Abu Dhabi ruler. The go to additionally supplied a chance for Modi to congratulate the brand new president of the UAE and the ruler of Abu Dhabi. Modi was accompanied by Nationwide Safety Advisor Ajit Doval and International Secretary Vinay Kwatra, amongst different officers.
However as Ambassador Navdeep Suri opined in a column not too long ago, seen from a purely diplomatic protocol angle, “the go to was not essential. Vice President Shri Venkaiah Naidu had gone to Abu Dhabi on 15 Might to supply the Indian authorities’s condolences to the management of the UAE and in an uncommon gesture, the Exterior Affairs Minister, Dr S. Jaishankar, had personally visited the UAE embassy in New Delhi to signal the condolence ebook.” So, the go to was clearly meant for one thing past what was acknowledged by the MEA.
The go to comes weeks after the controversial remarks by two BJP officers about Prophet Muhammad that created a lot anger and protests all throughout the Center East together with within the UAE. Like many different Muslim-majority international locations, the UAE’s Ministry of International Affairs and Worldwide Cooperation issued a assertion condemning the controversial statements. The ministry additionally underscored “the significance of strengthening the shared worldwide duty to unfold the values of tolerance and human coexistence whereas stopping any practices that will inflame the sentiment of followers of various religions.”
Modi’s go to, subsequently, supplied a chance to melt the anger expressed towards India. Despite the fact that it was a one-day go to, it appeared to have been an vital one in cementing ties that will been adversely impacted by the current developments, and a chance for a face-to-face interplay with the brand new management. Suri suggests that the temporary go to was meant to resume the connection with the management, in addition to for “an engagement with key members of the royal household that embrace the nationwide safety adviser and the international minister.”
Clearly, it was an vital gesture that would not be missed when Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan acquired Modi on the airport, reflecting the private ties between the 2 leaders. Modi tweeted that he was “touched by the particular gesture of my brother, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, of coming to welcome me at Abu Dhabi airport. My gratitude to him.”
The UAE relationship is one India didn’t wish to depart to likelihood. Throughout a particular briefing on Modi’s journey, Kwatra mentioned that “the strategic partnership of India-UAE is a multidimensional strategic partnership, it isn’t only a strategic partnership” and contains totally different areas similar to “protection, safety, surroundings, training, well being, commerce, [and] funding.” Commenting on the bilateral relationship, Dr. Aman Puri, the Consul Normal of India in Dubai mentioned that “the connection has been on swing for a couple of years and 2022 would be the inflection level.”
Patching up ties with the UAE assumes significance for a lot of causes. India and the UAE get pleasure from sturdy cultural and commerce relations. The Indian group within the UAE is 35 p.c of the UAE’s 10 million inhabitants, making it the most important expatriate group within the nation. The 2 even have a robust commerce and funding relations valued at $72 billion in 2021-22, making the UAE India’s third largest commerce associate, after China and america. The UAE can also be India’s second largest export vacation spot. UAE’s FDI into India stands at greater than US $12 billion.
Throughout their assembly, the 2 leaders took inventory of varied points of the India-UAE Complete Strategic Partnership together with the Complete Financial Partnership Settlement (CEPA) that was signed throughout their digital summit in February this yr. CEPA got here into power on Might 1. Throughout their assembly in February, in addition they issued a reasonably daring joint imaginative and prescient assertion, “Advancing India and UAE Complete Strategic Partnership: New Frontiers, New Milestones,” which has the potential to increase in addition to widen the scope of the bilateral relations.
Provided that the UAE is eager on remodeling itself from an oil-dependent economic system to a knowledge-based economic system, the India-UAE relationship has the potential to increase to essential areas within the science, expertise, innovation (STI) area. With India’s sturdy science and expertise base together with in STEM training, house and nuclear fields, the 2 international locations have the potential to remodel the character and scale of their engagement. The Indian choice to ascertain the first international department of the Indian Institute of Know-how (IIT) within the UAE suits effectively with this objective. The choice on the IIT’s UAE department in Dubai is a part of the CEPA settlement.
Aside from the bilateral financial and people-to-people ties, India and the UAE are additionally turning into extra snug with the altering geopolitics of the area. The signing of the Abraham Accords in August 2020 opened new potentialities in relations between Israel and the UAE. The Center East Quad involving India, Israel, the UAE and america is a working example. The cooperation needn’t be on safety and protection points however the truth that the 4 with their very own particular person strengths can come collectively demonstrates the willingness to get out of their very own consolation zones to discover new avenues of cooperation in numerous areas similar to, as an illustration, essential and rising applied sciences. This was all of the extra cause why India wished to stabilize the connection.
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