India, UAE strengthen ties: Crown Prince’s historic visit elevates strategic partnership

India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have decided to elevate their comprehensive strategic partnership following a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum on Tuesday. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, stated that they discussed Dubai’s key role in strengthening India-UAE ties across defence, trade, technology, space, and people-to-people connections.

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The UAE Crown Prince, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, is visiting India from April 8 to 9, at the invitation of the Prime Minister. This marks the UAE Crown Prince’s first official visit to India, accompanied by several key ministers, senior-level government officials, and a prominent delegation of business leaders.

During the meeting, Prime Minister Modi conveyed his warm regards to UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and UAE Vice President Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. On social media, PM Modi expressed his pleasure in meeting the Crown Prince, highlighting Dubai’s significant role in advancing the India-UAE comprehensive strategic partnership.

The Prime Minister also recalled his visit to the UAE last year, where he participated in the World Government Summit in Dubai as the Guest of Honour. He emphasised that this visit signifies the strong and historic ties between India and the UAE, built on mutual trust and a shared vision for the future. Additionally, PM Modi expressed gratitude to the UAE leadership for ensuring the welfare of approximately 4.3 million Indians living in the country.

Earlier, the Crown Prince was welcomed by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on his first official visit to India.

Taking to social media, Jaishankar said he values the positive sentiment of the Crown Prince over the wide-ranging cooperation and vibrant ties between India and the UAE.

Upon his arrival in India, the UAE Crown Prince was welcomed with a ceremonial guard of honour and received by Union Minister of State for Tourism and Petroleum and Natural Gas Suresh Gopi.

On Wednesday, the Crown Prince is scheduled to visit Mumbai, where he will participate in a business roundtable involving top Indian and UAE business leaders.