PM Modi to be on two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) beginning today. During the visit, Mr Modi will hold a bilateral meeting with the President of the UAE Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The two leaders will discuss ways to further deepen, expand, and strengthen the strategic partnership between the countries and exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual interest. 

This will be the fifth meeting between Mr. Modi and the President of the UAE in the last eight months. Briefing media in New Delhi, Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said the Prime Minister will also meet with the Vice President, Prime Minister, and Defence Minister of UAE and participate in the World Government Summit 2024 to be held in Dubai and deliver a special keynote address at the Summit. 

Mr Modi will inaugurate the 'Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha' (BAPS) Mandir, the first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi. He will also address the Indian community in the UAE at an event in Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi. This will be Prime Minister Modi's seventh visit to the UAE since 2015 and the third in the last eight months. The Ministry of External Affairs said, India and UAE enjoy warm, close, and multi-faceted relations underpinned by strong political, cultural, and economic



linkages. 

Following the landmark visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to UAE in August 2015, bilateral relations between the two countries have been elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Both countries signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in February 2022 and a Local Currency Settlement (LCS) System in July last year to promote the use of the Indian Rupee and United Arab Emirates Dirham for cross-border transactions. The two countries are among each other’s top trading partners with a bilateral trade of about 85 billion dollars in 2022-23. UAE is also among the top 4 investors in India in terms of foreign direct investments in 2022-23. 

After completing his UAE visit, Prime Minister Modi will also visit Doha, Qatar tomorrow afternoon. The Foreign Secretary informed that during the visit Mr. Modi will hold a bilateral meeting with the Amir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad.

Replying to a media query on the release of eight Indian ex-Navy veterans from Qatar, Mr. Kwatra appreciated the decision of the Qatar government. He said, Prime Minister Modi has himself personally constantly supervised all the developments in this case and has never shied away from any initiative that would ensure the return of Indian nationals back to home