India and the United Arab Emirates on Monday set a target of $200 billion in annual trade by 2032 and agreed to seal a strategic defence pact while boosting cooperation in energy, space and civil nuclear sectors with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan laying out a broad agenda to shore up ties.
Modi welcomed Al Nahyan at the Delhi airport with a hug and then they travelled together in the same vehicle to the prime minister’s residence, where they held talks in the restricted as well as delegation-level formats.
“This has been a short, but extremely substantive visit,” Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said at a media briefing after the UAE leader concluded his nearly three-and-a-half-hour visit that came amid increasing tensions in the Middle East and trade disruptions caused by Washington’s policy on tariffs.
The two sides decided to explore a partnership in advanced nuclear technologies, including development of large nuclear reactors and small modular reactors, as well as cooperation in advanced reactor systems and nuclear power plant operations, he said.
A long-term agreement for the supply of 0.5 million metric tonnes of LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) annually was concluded by the two sides.
The UAE is India’s second-largest supplier of LNG to India after Qatar.
Artificial Intelligence was identified as a priority area of cooperation and it was decided to collaborate on setting up a supercomputing cluster in India with the UAE partnership, Misri said, adding the Gulf nation will also look at investments for expanding data centre capacities in India.
The foreign secretary said the two sides also set a target of $200 billion in annual trade by 2032. The volume of two-way trade between the two sides was $84 billion in 2023-24.
The two sides also resolved to significantly expand their defence ties.
“A letter of intent was signed between the two sides to work towards concluding a framework agreement for a strategic defence partnership between India and the UAE,” Misri said.
Another letter of intent was also signed for joint work in developing space infrastructure. Under this initiative, both sides will look to set up new launch complexes, satellite fabrication facilities, joint missions, space academy and training centres, the foreign secretary said.
A separate document was signed to facilitate the UAE’s participation in the development of a special investment region in Gujarat’s Dholera.
This initiative will look at the establishment of an international airport, a pilot training school, an MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) facility, a greenfield port, a smart urban township, as well as projects related to railway connectivity and energy infrastructure, Misri added.
The discussions between Modi and Al Nahyan focused on cooperation in several new and emerging areas, including new opportunities for civil nuclear cooperation in the light of the passage of the Shanti Act in India.
An agreement on food safety was also signed. It will provide for cooperation in the food sector and encourage food products and other agricultural exports from India to the UAE.
It will benefit the farmers of India and contribute to food security in the UAE, the foreign secretary said.
Both sides will also explore the possibility of setting up a “data embassy”, Misri said.
This is a relatively new concept, but there will be work done to see how these can be set up under mutually recognised sovereignty agreements, he noted.
The foreign secretary said the situation in Yemen, Gaza and Iran was discussed at the talks but declined to elaborate.
“All of these issues were discussed between the leaders. I cannot get into the details at this stage, but yes, both leaders had the opportunity to share their views and opinions in detail on these issues,” he said.
Misri said Modi and Al Nahyan unequivocally condemned cross-border terrorism and held that the perpetrators, supporters and financiers of all acts of terrorism must be brought to justice.
The UAE president expressed his support for the success of India’s chairmanship of the BRICS grouping this year.
There has been a significant upswing in bilateral trade and people-to-people ties after New Delhi and Abu Dhabi inked an ambitious comprehensive economic partnership agreement in 2022.
The UAE president was seen off at the airport by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.>
