Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, at Hyderabad House on Monday. The Prime Minister received the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and both leaders warmly embraced each other as a mark of reception by shaking hands and hugging each other.
During his first official visit to India, the Crown Prince will be calling on President Droupadi Murmu and paying homage to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat. The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, who arrived at New Delhi on Sunday, was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the airport by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. He is leading a delegation of UAE ministers and business chiefs during his ongoing visit, a testament to the close relations between the two nations.
The visit will be aimed at strengthening cooperation in a range of fields and is another milestone in the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries, India and UAE. The Crown Prince is also scheduled to travel to Mumbai on September 10 when he will attend a business forum with leading business personalities from India and the UAE.
The MEA said, "India and the UAE have traditionally enjoyed close and friendly relations. In the last couple of years, the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between India and the UAE has further deepened in a wide range of areas including political, trade, investment, connectivity, energy, technology, education, and culture.
The statement by the MEA further said, "The visit of the Crown Prince will further reinforce strong India-UAE bilateral relations and open up avenues for partnership in new and emerging areas." The UAE President, His Highness Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, had visited India in January this year to firm up bilateral relations with India.
He also took part in the 10th Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit where new areas of cooperation between both nations were chalked out. Prime Minister Modi paid multiple visits to the UAE since 2015. His last visit was in July 2023, his fifth to the UAE since his pathbreaking prime ministerial visit to the country as the first Indian prime minister in more than three decades.
The India-UAE trade shot up to $ 85 billion in 2022. The country is all set to emerge as India's third-biggest trading partner in 2022-23, while turning out to be the second-biggest export destination. India, in turn, is the second-largest trading partner of the UAE. All this, according to information furnished by the Prime Minister's Office. The bilateral relationship was elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership when Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited India in 2017.
Read also| Quad Summit Set for Delaware This Month; India Expected to Host Next Year
Read also| PM Modi Meets Singapore's PM Wong to Discuss Bilateral Ties
