Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, on Sunday arrived in India for an official visit in which he will hold talks with the country's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.
Sheikh Khaled was met in New Delhi by Piyush Goyal, India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, after touching down at the airport on an Etihad plane.
He received a red-carpet reception during which the national anthems of both countries were played, before being greeted by a ceremonial guard of honour and a traditional cultural performance.
Sheikh Khaled's delegation includes Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Co-operation, Mohammed Alsuwaidi, Minister of Investment, and Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of the Executive Affairs Authority, Abu Dhabi Media Office said.
Sheikh Khaled is set to attend several events that highlight the bond between the two countries during the tour.
He is expected to meet Mr Modi and Indian President Droupadi Murmu on Monday, according to an itinerary shared by Indian authorities.
Sheikh Khaled is due to also visit Rajghat, the memorial site built in honour of Mahatma Gandhi, on the same day. The Crown Prince will also visit India's financial capital Mumbai on Tuesday to attend a business forum.
Earlier this week, Sheikh Khaled attended the inauguration of the first international campus of the Indian Institute of Technology in the UAE capital and highlighted how it would help to develop the skills of the nation's young talent. He witnessed a series of deals between the Abu Dhabi IIT and several of the emirate's leading universities being made.
The partnership is in line with the UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (Cepa), which came into effect in February 2022.
Mr Modi visited the UAE in February and inaugurated the Baps Hindu Mandir in Abu Dhabi. The countries also signed a pact to expand bilateral investment co-operation in digital infrastructure.
In January, President Sheikh Mohamed visited India and met Mr Modi while attending the Vibrant Gujarat business summit.
Historic ties
The visit “marks a major stride in the continuing development of UAE-India ties, which have become an international model of constructive co-operation, particularly in areas, such as economic and sustainable development, investment, trade, climate action, and promoting global stability and peace”, state news agency Wam reported.
It said that UAE-India relations draw strength and momentum from a long history of bilateral meetings between the leaders of both nations, beginning in January 1975 when UAE Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, made a historic visit to India.
He met the Indian president at the time, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, and the prime minister Indira Gandhi. The visit saw the signing of the Cultural Agreement between the UAE and India, which serves as the primary framework for strengthening cultural ties between their peoples.
Sheikh Zayed also visited India in April 1992, during which the bilateral agreement to avoid double taxation on income and capital was signed between the two countries, Wam reported.
It said that the visit of Sheikh Mohamed, who at the time was Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, in January 2017, marked a turning point in bilateral relations, with the signing of the Cepa, along with 13 other agreements and memorandums of understanding in various fields.
High-profile visit
Sheikh Khaled's visit to India is the most significant overseas engagement he has carried out since being named Crown Prince in March 2023. In May last year, he embarked on a trip to Malaysia, where he met the country's king and prime minister.
Sheikh Khaled attended a royal reception hosted by King Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah in Kuala Lumpur.
The Malaysian monarch gave Sheikh Khaled two medals in recognition of his work in furthering the friendship between the nations at a ceremony at the Istana Negara Palace.
In March, Sheikh Khaled travelled to Manama to meet Bahrain's King Hamad at Al Sakhir Palace.
Before becoming Crown Prince, Sheikh Khaled led a UAE delegation at the state funeral of assassinated former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo.
Sheikh Khaled was joined by political leaders and heads of state from around the world, including US Vice President Kamala Harris, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad, at the service in September 2022.
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
