NEW DELHI: PM Narendra Modi discussed ways to further strengthen the India-UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership – especially in the areas of trade, investments, defence, energy, technology, education, sports and people-to-people ties – in a meeting on Tuesday with visiting Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is also deputy PM and defence minister of the Gulf country. In the defence sector, the focus was on working together in co-development and co-production of equipment.
According to the Indian govt, Modi expressed his gratitude to the UAE leadership for ensuring the welfare of around 4.3 million Indians living in the UAE, acknowledging their vital role in the vibrant relations between the two nations.
“Dubai has played a key role in advancing the India-UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. This special visit reaffirms our deep-rooted friendship and paves the way for even stronger collaboration in the future,” said Modi in a post on X.
Sheikh Hamdan said that his meeting with Modi reaffirmed the strength of UAE-India ties which are “built on trust, shaped by history, and driven by a shared vision to create a future full of opportunity, innovation and lasting prosperity”.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh also held a separate “productive” meeting with the visiting dignitary and later said India is eager to work closely with the Gulf nation in the defence sector, including in co-production and co-development projects. Following the landmark visit of PM to UAE in 2015, bilateral relations between the two countries were elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
“In the coming years, we are eager to work closely in areas such as defence cooperation, co-production and co-development projects, innovation and technology,” said Singh in a post on X. Foreign minister S Jaishankar also held a meeting with the Crown Prince.
