Indian PM on official UAE visit; energy, defence key focus
ABU DHABI
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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in the UAE today (July 15) after a two-day visit to France where he held wide-ranging talks with French President Emmanuel Macron.
He was received at the airport by Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
During his stay, he will be meeting UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to discuss and assess the growing bilateral relations. The focus areas of the visit are energy, food security, and defence.
The UAE visit comes following his successful two-day trip to Paris, where he attended the Bastille Day parade as the Guest of Honour alongside French President Emmanuel Macron. He was also conferred with the country's highest civilian and military honour, the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour.
The visit to France also witnessed the signing of multiple agreements aimed at strengthening the bilateral ties between India and France, reported PTI.
The Indian PM received a dazzling welcome in UAE with Dubai's Burj Khalifa displaying the colours of the Indian national flag.
During Modi's visit to the UAE, the key focus areas are anticipated to be energy, food security, and defence. The purpose of the visit is to review the progress made in bilateral relations between the two countries, particularly after the signing of a significant Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
Notably, this agreement was signed amidst the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, underscoring the commitment to strengthen economic ties even during difficult times, said the PTI report.
India and the UAE have extensive collaboration in multiple sectors including trade, investments, energy, food security, science and technology, education, fintech, defence, and security, and have strong people-to-people ties.
The Indian expatriate community in the UAE is the largest ethnic community, accounting for approximately 30 per cent of the country's population. As per UAE records in 2021, the estimated number of resident Indian Nationals stood at 3.5 million, it added.
