UAE and India are natural partners

Sheikh Mohamed, 54, who is also the Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, will begin his three-day- long visit to India on Wednesday along with a high-profile delegation of ministers, businesspersons and economists, and will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well. India has been eying the fund, parked with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, for its infrastructure sector and the envoy said there may be some announcements to this effect during Al Nahayan’s visit.

Ahmed A.R. Albanna, the UAE’s ambassador to India, told reporters in New Delhi that the visit “sort of reflects the opening of a new chapter, a new era in the ongoing relations between India and the UAE”, given that India and the UAE have been trade partners for centuries. “Everybody… whether India or the UAE”, said Gargash to NDTV. The UAE leader is scheduled to visit the country for three days, but he may extend the trip to attend the first day of the “Make in India Week” in Mumbai on Saturday where business leaders from his country participants. Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital, has a sovereign wealth fund of about $800 billion.

“We are looking at signing 16 pacts, out of which 12 have been finalised and are ready to be signed …”

It’s also a partnership that New Delhi is pushing to move beyond just trade and people-to-people ties though this in no way undermines the role of the 2.5 million-strong Indian diaspora in the Emirates that sends valuable remittances home. “The strategic and security partnership between India and the UAE shows how the strategy to fight radical ideas is becoming better coordinated both at the bilateral and multilateral levels”, Mr Bhattacharjee said. It contributes significantly to India’s energy security and is the sixth largest supplier of crude oil to India in 2014-15.

UAE has signed similar pacts for peaceful use of nuclear power with UK, Russia, France, US, Japan and South Korea among others.

This region is also the source of almost two-third of India’s crude oil requirements and is India’s largest trading partner.

For now, both countries seem eager to seize the opportunity to expand bilateral ties as they see growing synergies in a rapidly transforming world.

The minister said that the UAE hopes to see areas of further cooperation across a variety of sectors, including energy, aviation, technology, infrastructure and SMEs. Economically, the country is a crucial area of trade for the UAE.