The year 2024 is set to bring new heights for India and UAE relations as both countries are coming closer with each passing year. After Prime Minister Narendra Modi went to Dubai for a day to attend the COP 28 Summit on December 1, the President of UAE Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is set to visit India on January 9 as a chief guest for the Vibrant Gujarat Summit. Notably, PM Modi is again scheduled to travel to Abu Dhabi to inaugurate the BAPS Hindu Temple and attend a community event Ahlan Modi at Zayed Stadium.
Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, engagements with the Gulf nation has increased in the past few years as earlier it was just a ‘buyer-seller’ relations. While India used to buy energy from the Gulf nation, it has now joined UAE in partnership on matters related to energy and food security. The two countries recently came closer to each other and this is quite visible through the bonds that Prime Minister Narendra Modi shares with Sheikh Zayed.
On January 9, PM Modi will receive the President of UAE at Ahmedabad Airport. Following this, the two leaders will begin a roadshow airport to Gandhi Ashram. The Vibrant Gujarat Summit will also be attended by UAE Minister of State for Trade Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi and a full delegation business community from the Gulf nation.
It is speculated that the UAE President’s visit to India might also witness the signing of MOUs in sectors of renewable energy (Solar, Hydrogen and Grid Connectivity) and the construction of food parks, healthcare enhancing India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
UAE-India Business Summit is also planned on the sidelines of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit. The two countries will also take a step forward in the direction of making accelerated growth of annual bilateral non-oil trade to US $100 billion and trade in services to US $15 billion in the upcoming five years.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to UAE in July last year marked significant milestones in the deepening of the UAE-India Bilateral relationship. During his visit, three MOUs were signed. The first MOU was signed to establish a framework to encourage the use of local currencies for cross-border transactions by the governors of respective central banks, the second MOU pertained to the interlinking of payment and messaging systems and lastly, plans were set in motion for the establishment of the Indian Institute of Technology – Delhi in Abu Dhabi. In 2022, the first summit of the four-nation grouping where India and UAE are member countries announced an investment of US $2 billion to develop a series of integrated food parks across India and set up a 300 megawatt Hybrid Renewable Energy Project in Gujarat.
PM Modi in 2015 became the first Prime Minister of India to visit UAE after a gap of 35 years. Since then, he made six visits to the UAE in the last eight years. Meanwhile, the President of UAE visited India thrice in the past.
India, UAE trade rose to $85 billion in 2022 making UAE India’s third largest trading partner for 2022-23. Moreover, India is UAE’s second-largest trading partner. In February 2022, India became the first country with which UAE signed a comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) which resulted in an increase in bilateral trade by 15 percent.
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