Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed arrives in India for state visit

Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed is the chief guest at the country’s 2017 Republic Day celebrations, which run from January 24 to 26.

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi welcomes Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, upon his arrival in New Delhi. EPA

NEW DELHI// Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday evening for a three-day state visit to India.

He is the chief guest at the country’s 2017 Republic Day celebrations, which run from January 24 to 26.

Prime minister Narendra Modi personally received Sheikh Mohammed at the airport. The two leaders warmly embraced each other in what appeared to be a clear sign that India and the UAE are set to cement their strategic partnership during this visit. That could lead to increased bilateral cooperation in trade, energy supplies, defence and internal security-related matters.

A military contingent from the UAE will march in the Republic Day parade on January 26.

“Tomorrow is the official day of the visit. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed would be received at the forecourts of Rashtrapati Bhawan [Presidential Palace] where he will be given the ceremonial guard of honour. Tomorrow, he will also have a one-on-one meeting with the prime minister, which would be followed by delegation level talks at the Hyderabad House, where the prime minister and his cabinet team would be present,” said Amar Sinha, the secretary (economic relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs.

This, he said, will be followed by one-on-one meetings with India’s vice president, Mohammad Hamid Ansari, and the president, Pranab Mukherjee. On Wednesday, the prime minister will host a banquet lunch for Sheikh Mohammed, while the president will host the dinner banquet in his honour at the Presidential Palace.

India and the UAE could sign up to 16 agreements during the state visit. Among them would be a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement to set the tone for future dialogues, the officials said.

Sheikh Mohammed is accompanied by a high-level delegation that includes the Minister of Economy, Sultan Al Mansouri, other ministers, senior officials and captains of industry.

Mr Sinha said the UAE is the fifth-largest crude oil exporter to India and is set to remain a key partner.

“We are adding a new element to this relationship. The UAE has decided to become our strategic partner in the energy sector and will be both investing and filling up one of our strategic petroleum reserves,” said Mr Sinha.

Last week, the first India-UAE “strategic dialogue” was held in New Delhi, co-chaired by Dr Anwar Gargash, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, and M J Akbar, India’s minister of state for external affairs.

They discussed a number of issues ranging from cooperation in the areas of trade and investments to expanding the bilateral cooperation and new areas under the strategic partnership, including in areas of energy security and renewable energy, defence and security, electronics and information technology and space.

This will be the second visit of the Crown Prince to India since February last year. Bilateral ties have been on the upswing since Mr Modi’s official visit to Dubai and Abu Dhabi in August 2015.

“The two leaders are on course since then to elevate the relationship of their countries. UAE investments into Indian infrastructure development and anti-terrorism cooperation are the key areas of the expanding ties. On terror cooperation, the UAE has been very cooperative and prevented some of the Indian diaspora groups from joining the IS in Syria. There is high quality of intelligence cooperation between the two countries. Indian Islamist terror groups like Islamic Jihad and SIMI can no more use the territory of the Emirates for safe refuge, raising funds or transit,” Prasad Nallapati, the president of the Centre for Asia-Africa Policy Research, told The National.

India and the UAE have been among each other’s top trading partners, with bilateral trade of about US$50 billion (Dh184bn) in 2015 and 2016. The UAE is one of the leading investors in India in terms of foreign direct investments. It contributes significantly to India’s energy security and was the fifth-largest supplier of crude oil to India in those years.

During Sheikh Mohammed’s last state visit to India, the UAE had expressed its interest in investing in infrastructure development in the country, including railways, roads, ports and shipping. At the time, Mr Modi and Sheikh Mohammed welcomed the opening of D P World’s “smart port” Nhava Sheva in Mumbai and signed an agreement to expand the participation of Emirati investors in infrastructure projects in India.

Both sides described these developments as important steps towards reaching the $75bn target for UAE investments in India’s infrastructure development plans.

There are 2.6 million Indians in the UAE, forming the country’s largest expatriate community.

Follow The National's Business section on Twitter