Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, arrived in New Delhi on Sunday for a two-day official visit to boost bilateral relations between the UAE and India, focusing on sectors such as energy and connectivity, amidst escalating tensions in West Asia.
”A new milestone in a historic relationship. His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrived in Delhi on his first official visit to India,” External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on ’X’.
”Warmly received by @CimGOI @piyushgoyal and accorded a ceremonial welcome,” he said.
The Crown Prince is accompanied by several ministers from the UAE government and a business delegation.
After concluding the Delhi leg of his visit, Al Nahyan will travel to Mumbai to participate in a business forum. Top business leaders from both countries will participate in the forum on Tuesday.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that the visit of Al Nahyan will further reinforce strong ties between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and open avenues for partnership in new and emerging areas.
Prime Minister Modi and the Crown Prince will hold talks on Monday. Following the landmark visit of Modi to the UAE in August 2015, bilateral relations between the two countries were elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
Both countries signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in February 2022 and a Local Currency Settlement (LCS) System in July 2023 to promote the use of Indian Rupee and AED (United Arab Emirates Dirham) for cross-border transactions.
According to official data, the two countries are among each other’s top trading partners with a bilateral trade of about USD 85 billion in 2022-23. The UAE is also among the top four investors in India in terms of foreign direct investments in 2022-23.
About 3.5 million strong and vibrant Indian communities form the UAE’s largest expatriate group.
The UAE was invited as a special invitee for G20 during India’s Presidency of the grouping.
In February 2023, the India-UAE-France (UFI) trilateral was formally launched.
With India’s active support, the UAE joined SCO as a dialogue partner in May 2023. The UAE also joined BRICS as a member on January 1 with India’s support. The India-UAE defence cooperation has also renewed momentum in the last few years.
In January 2024, the first India-UAE bilateral army exercise ’Desert Cyclone’ was held in Rajasthan.
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Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Al Nahyan arrives in Delhi to boost bilateral ties
