Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrived here on Tuesday to a warm hug from Prime Minister Narendra Modi who received him at the airport. Al Nahyan is on a three-day visit to New Delhi. He is the chief guest of Republic Day celebrations and will hold talks with PM Modi with several important agreements, including on Strategic Cooperation, expected to be signed.
“Welcome to India, HH Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. We are honoured to host you & delighted that you will join our Republic Day celebrations. India & UAE share strong bonds of friendship & extensive cooperation. looking forward to building on this & further cementing ties,” Modi tweeted.
This is the second visit of the Crown Prince to India in the last one year. From the Indian side, Modi had visited Dubai in August 2015, which was the first visit by an Indian PM in 33 years, last being former PM Indira Gandhi in 1981.
Al Nahyan is also the Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE armed forces. It is expected that cooperation in counter-terrorism will get a boost as the two leaders discuss the existing and potential threats, including radicalisation. The two countries are already working strongly on terror cooperation. “Cooperation in intelligence sharing and exchange of information about the specific threats is always part of the discussions between the two countries”, Secretary (Economic Relations) Amar Sinha said.
Describing UAE as a key partner in the Gulf region, Sinha said under the defence and security cooperation the two sides were looking at armament, armoured personnel carriers, joint production of aircraft, and joint manufacturing.
The two sides are also expected to sign agreements pacts in the field of Research and Development, agriculture, space, renewable energy. India has identified few projects in highway and railways sectors for UAE investments.