In spl gesture, UAE President receives Indian PM at airport
India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday reviewed the entire spectrum of their bilateral ties in the sphere of security, education and investment during the talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Signifying the robust relations with India, the UAE President in a special gesture personally received and then gave a warm send-off to Modi at the Abu Dhabi airport.
Expressing gratitude, Modi tweeted, “I am touched by the special 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.”
Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a tweet from Abu Dhabi, “In a very special gesture, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and members of the Royal family came all the way to the airport to meet and interact with PM Modi here itself, so that PM did not have to go all the way to the city.”
The Prime Minister made a brief stopover at Abu Dhabi on his return from Munich after attending the two-day G-7 summit in Germany. This was the first in-person meeting between the two leaders since August 2019 when the Prime Minister visited Abu Dhabi last.
The main purpose of the visit was for the Prime Minister to convey his personal condolences on the passing away of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, former President last month.
Modi conveyed his heartfelt condolences to the UAE President as well as family members, including Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security Adviser; Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister; Sheikh Hamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Managing Director, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority; Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation among others.
The Prime Minister also congratulated Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on his election as the third President of the UAE and becoming the Ruler of Abu Dhabi, the MEA said in a statement.
Both leaders reviewed various aspects of India-UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership which they have carefully nurtured over the past few years. During their Virtual Summit on February 18, both countries signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which has since entered into force in May. The CEPA is expected to further boost trade and investment between both countries.
Bilateral trade in FY 2021-22 was about USD 72 billion. The UAE is India’s third largest trade partner and second largest export destination. UAE FDI in India has continuously increased over the past few years and currently stands at over USD 12 billion.
During the Virtual Summit, both leaders had also released a Vision Statement which has laid the roadmap for bilateral cooperation in coming years in diverse areas including trade, investment, energy including renewable energy, food security, health, defence, skills, education, culture and people-to-people ties.
Both leaders expressed satisfaction that India and the UAE continue to forge closer partnership in these areas building on their close and friendly relations and historical people-to-people connect. India and UAE have a strong energy partnership which is now acquiring a new focus on renewable energy.
Modi thanked the UAE President for taking great care of the 3.5 million Indian community in the UAE, especially during Covid-19 pandemic. He invited Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to visit India at an early date.
The visit comes weeks after a row over remarks against Prophet Muhammad by a BJP spokesperson, since suspended, caused a diplomatic outrage.
Answering a query about controversial remarks, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra had said “as far as the Prophet issue is concerned, almost all Middle East countries have an understanding of India’s position. We’ve communicated our stand on various platforms. I don’t think that will be taken forward anymore.”