Keeping aside the protocol, Prime Minister Narendra Modi walked up to Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince General Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and held him in a warm embrace as he alighted from his aircraft at New Delhi’s Palam Technical Area on Wednesday.
The Crown Prince is in India to hold talks with PM Modi on issues ranging from terrorism to investment on Thursday. Agreements pertaining to civil nuclear and Defence cooperation are also expected to be signed during his three-day visit to India.
Boosting trade ties and ramping up United Arab Emirates’ investment in India will also be on priority. For this Al Nahyan will attend a meeting of business heads from both countries in Mumbai on Friday. In fact, about 100 UAE business heads are travelling to India for the event.
“This is Sheikh Mohammed’s 1st State visit to India & am glad he is visiting with his family,” PM Modi tweeted in a welcome message. The Crown Prince, who is also the Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, is accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising Cabinet Ministers, senior officials and business leaders.
In the wake of rising threat of ISIS and radicalisation of youth, India wants to strengthen existing cooperation in information sharing and counter-terrorism from Abu Dhabi. UAE has deported about a dozen Indians with suspected links to ISIS group. “The security cooperation between the two countries has been exemplary. There is concrete meeting of minds on the issue,” said Anil Wadhwa, Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Besides, India has also sought assistance in freezing of funds and attaching properties of wanted terrorists like Dawood Ibrahim in UAE.
In defence sector, India is looking at joint production of defence equipments under the Make in India initiative where UAE may make investment for manufacturing of military equipments and get the products’ supply.
In trade and economy field, UAE being one of the leading producers of oil, is expected to announce significant investment in India’s energy and infrastructure sectors from its sovereign wealth fund. India has been eying the fund, being managed by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, for its infrastructure sector including for railways, ports and roads.
On Wednesday External Affairs Sushma Swaraj called on Al Nahyan. On Thursday President Pranab Mukherjee will host a private lunch for him, in a reflection of importance the government has accorded to his visit. The Crown Prince will later have a working dinner with Modi. Al Nahyan will travel to Mumbai on Friday where he will visit Bombay Stock Exchange and interact with industry leaders.
After visit of Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in March last year, Al Nahyan is another important leader to visit India from Gulf region, which is home to nearly 7 million Indians who are a major source of remittances. It also fulfills 60 per cent of India’s energy needs.
“The visit takes place after we have decided to elevate our relationship to comprehensive strategic partnership during our Prime Minister’s visit to UAE in August last year and this will provide an opportunity to have detailed discussions to consolidate the domains of existing partnership,” said Wadhwa. He added the issues related to diaspora and Indian workers will also be taken up during the meeting.