Indians plan grand reception for Narendra Modi in UAE

The US has said it is not aware of any planned visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the White House during his trip to the country to attend 70th annual session of the UN General Assembly in New York next month. Mrs Indira Gandhi was the last Prime Minister to visit the UAE in 1981.

Modi will be the first Indian prime minister to visit the UAE in 34 years. Mr. Modi is expected to fly to Abu Dhabi on August 16 to discuss investment and trade opportunities as well as cooperation on terrorism with the UAE leadership, and then to Dubai on August 17, where he will address the Indian community at the Dubai sports city cricket stadium.

Finally, Mr. Modi’s visit will be seen as part of a “balancing act” in the region, given his proposed plans to visit both Israel and Iran in the upcoming year.

Modi’s trip will be significant in the backdrop of current political churning in West Asia. Besides, militant organisation ISIS has emerged as a common threat not only in the region but also for India.

The UAE is already an important investor for India. The UAE was the second largest export destination for India in 2014-15, with exports totalling more than $33 billion. India and the UAE share old shipping and people-to-people links. In India itself, handweaving covers one of the largest sectors in Indian economy and it provides employment to about 43 lakh weavers. There is also a large business community of Indian origin in the UAE.

“We don’t want to be caught off guard and are preparing for the visit”, another Indian official said.