by admin | May 25, 2021 | Economy, News
Prime Minister, Narendra Modi departing for his two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from New Delhi on August 16, 2015.
New Delhi:(IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for a “comprehensive strategic partnership” with the UAE and warned against “outside interference” in the Middle East.
Ahead of his two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates starting on Sunday, Modi also described the UAE as a “Mini India” and vowed to build a “regular and effective cooperation in … security challenges”.
In an interview to the Khaleej Times, the Indian leader said that the Gulf region was “vital for India’s economic, energy and security interests.
“I have begun my regional engagement with the UAE. This tells you the importance I attach to the UAE. We have resolved to sustain regular high level engagements and build a strong and comprehensive strategic partnership.”
Without naming any specific country or countries, he said India was “saddened and worried to see violence and instability in the region.
“I have always believed that regional or bilateral problems are best solved by the countries involved. We have often seen the consequences of outside interference.”
Modi, who will be the first Indian prime minister to visit the UAE in 34 years, lavished praise on the progress made by a country which is home to a large number of Indian expatriates.
“I have been hearing about the progress made by Dubai for years… This would be my first visit to the country. I always thought how this paradise could come up in a desert? What vision! What remarkable skill!”
The prime minister said the 2.6 million Indians who live and work in the UAE had made that Gulf country a “Mini India”.
“The Indian community has been embraced with such warmth in the UAE. The way the two communities work together represents a special bond.
“They have set an example for how an expatriate community can become a part of their resident country’s development journey.”
Saying India has emerged as one of the major global powers, Modi said that India and the UAE have everything to be a top priority for each other.
“The Gulf region is vital for India’s economic, energy and security interests…
“I would like to see a truly comprehensive strategic partnership evolve between our two countries. I want to see the UAE as our foremost trade and investment partner…
“We would build regular and effective cooperation in a full range of security challenges. Our armed forces would engage with each other more.”
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Foreign Minister (Photo Credit Khaleejtimes)
The UAE and India have a robust economic relationship, which is underpinned and sustained by various bilateral agreements we have signed over the last years.
PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi’s visit to the UAE this week comes at a time when relations between the UAE and India have never been warmer. The prime minister’s visit is of strategic significance in our bilateral relations and follows on the heels of growing diplomatic, economic, energy and defence cooperation between our two countries.
Building on our millennia-old history of cooperation and exchanges – and with a current trade balance of around 60 billion dollars – the UAE and India have a robust economic relationship, which is underpinned and sustained by various bilateral agreements we have signed over the last years, including a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement and a Bilateral Protection of Investments Agreement.
For the UAE, India is its second largest trading partner. The UAE is India’s third largest trading partner. UAE companies have a long history and considerable experience in working in India. Emaar, DP World, Abu Dhabi’s National Petroleum Construction Company, Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, among others, have operations in India. Similarly, around 45,000 Indian companies operate successfully in the UAE.
The UAE deeply values the important contributions that the large Indian community living and working in the UAE has made to its economy and society. The number of direct weekly flights between the UAE and India – now over 950 – also evidences the strength of our people-to-people and economic ties. We look forward to further facilitating the movement of people and expanding aviation ties between our countries in the years to come.
We also have strong bilateral institutional mechanisms in place, which enable us to maintain a constant and constructive dialogue and to identify future areas of cooperation. Over the last two years, we have held meetings of the Joint Committee, of the Joint Consular Committee, of the Joint Committee on Security Matters, and of the High-Level Joint Task Force, which aims to explore investment opportunities between our countries.
The UAE looks forward to the next meeting of the UAE-India Joint Committee – a key platform for dialogue – on September 3, 2015, which will present yet another opportunity to reflect on what steps we can take to further increase links between the UAE and India.
From a foreign policy and regional security perspective, the UAE has placed India at the forefront of its international partnerships and recognises the importance of broadening a comprehensive dialogue with India that deepens and diversifies our areas of engagement. There are particularly strong opportunities for UAE-India security cooperation in combatting terrorism, which both our governments condemn in the strongest terms in all its forms and manifestations, as well as in the maritime domain.
The UAE feels strongly about the need to counter extremism and incitement to violence, and has recently passed legislation that bans hate speech and the promotion of violence. India shares our concerns over the rise of extremism. The barbaric ideology that extremists embrace threatens values that the UAE and India hold dear, and both our countries have a mutual desire to see the region and the entire world free of the scourge of extremism.
Our shared values and strong bilateral ties provide an important basis on which the UAE and India can elevate their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the UAE provides an opportunity to chart a new course in our partnership for the 21st century. We look forward to a productive exchange of ideas covering a wide range of economic, political and security issues of mutual interest.
(Courtesy ;Khaleejtimes)
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
New Delhi:(IANS) A key focus area of talks during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the UAE on August 16-17 is expected to be the Gulf country’s estimated $800 billion sovereign wealth fund that India will seek to tap for infrastructure projects.
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) sovereign wealth fund is said to be the world’s second largest sovereign wealth fund. It is believed to be one of the investors in HDFC’s $1-billion offshore fund to finance affordable housing projects in India.
Modi’s visit comes as the UAE has appointed Ahmad Sultan Al Falahi as the new trade attache at the United Arab Emirates embassy in New Delhi.
Modi’s visit, the first by an Indian prime minister to the UAE in 34 years and his first to an Arab nation, has “been in the works for some time”.
The visit was being planned for some months, and the dates worked out to mutual benefit some time ago, official sources told IANS.
It was not being openly talked about and the announcement would have been made when the dates were fixed, said the sources.
The UAE, which is home to a 2.6 million Indian expatriate population, is the leading source of professional talent coming to the UAE — representing 28 percent, according to a study by LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network. The other countries after India are Britain, Pakistan, the US, and Qatar.
According to LinkedIn, the UAE retained its position as the world leader in attracting talent for the second consecutive year.
The India-UAE trade crossed $59 billion in 2014-15, making the country India’s third largest trading partner after China and the US.
India was the UAE’s largest non-oil trading partner in 2014. Both countries signed a Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPA) in 2013.
Indians in the UAE are the largest remitters globally, and remitted $12.64 billion to their home country in 2014. India is also the third largest source of tourists travelling to the UAE.
