ABU DHABI // Narendra Modi will on Sunday become the first Indian prime minister to visit the UAE in almost 34 years.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces will meet Mr Modi to discuss a number of topics, including trade, investment and energy.
Mr Modi said that his visit would boost people-to-people ties between both countries.
“The economic strides taken by the UAE are extremely admirable,” said Mr Modi.
“The UAE is an economic success story that has attracted people from all over the world, and it has also emerged as an important logistics hub.
“The UAE and India’s strong partnership goes back several years. Both are multicultural societies that respect and celebrate plurality and diversity.”
Mr Modi said he also planned to visit Masdar City during his time in Abu Dhabi.
“It is an effort towards creating a cleaner and greener tomorrow,” he said. “I especially look forward to meeting the large community of Indian workers based in the UAE.
“No words will be enough to appreciate their hard work and sweat over the many years.”
Talmeez Ahmed, India’s former ambassador to the UAE, said the visit was important to discuss areas of concern.
“It is a high-level engagement of the leadership and it takes place after a long time, nearly 34 years,” Mr Ahmed said. “It is taking place at a time when the bilateral relationship is already substantial, but there are also serious areas of concern of the regional situation, in terms of the rise of extremism and various conflicts taking place in the region.”
Mr Ahmed said both parties would discuss what should be done to tackle such problems.
“How we can coordinate our efforts in this regard is going to be the centrepiece of the dialogue,” he said. “The other important area of discussion will be the promotion of investments by the UAE in India, in infrastructure, energy and industry.”
India is the UAE’s second largest trading partner and the UAE is India’s third, with more than 2.5 million Indians living in the country.
“We believe the potential in this regard is very significant,” Mr Ahmed said. “If there is UAE investment in India it will bring both countries together over a long period because investments tie countries together on a long-term basis.”
Last year, India’s minister of external affairs, Sushma Swaraj, announced measures to serve the UAE’s expatriate Indian community during a Dubai visit. They included improving the Indian community welfare fund with a grant of Dh500,000 given to the Indian Association in Sharjah, and Dh500,000 to the Indian Association in Ajman for the construction of a social centre.
Dr Theodore Karasik, a UAE-based geopolitical analyst, said Mr Modi’s visit was significant because both the UAE and India were Indian Ocean states.
“The security of maritime lanes and the commercial ties are slated to grow for the foreseeable future,” he said. “Now is the key moment to agree on the trajectory of bilateral relations. It is important to think of the UAE as an Arab country on the Indian Ocean as it provides a unique geopolitical and geo-economic position.”
cmalek@thenational.ae
