UAE-India ties get fresh boost as Modi arrives in Abu Dhabi

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Abu Dhabi from Palestine on Saturday evening on a two-day state visit. He was received by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

Photos posted by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed on Twitter showed the two leaders hugging each other and exchanging pleasantries. PM Modi was then accorded a ceremonial reception. Modi also attended a state banquet hosted by the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at the Presidential Palace.

This is Modi's second visit to the UAE and is indicative of the new momentum in the UAE-India ties and the bolstering of cooperation between the two countries in areas like defence, finance, investments, anti-terrorism, space technology, infrastructure and skills development.

Five government to government agreements were signed on Saturday related to energy sector, railways, manpower and financial services.

An MoU between Indian Consortium (OVL, BPRL & IOCL) and Adnoc was signed for acquisition of 10 per cent participating interest in the offshore Lower Zakum Concession. The concession will be for 40 years from 2018 to 2057, 60 per cent of the participating interest will be retained by Adnoc and remaining 30 per cent will be awarded to other International oil companies. This is the first Indian investment in upstream oil sector of the UAE, transforming the traditional buyer-seller relationship to a long-term investor relationship.

Indian Ambassador to the UAE Navdeep Singh Suri said "the agreement with Adnoc marks India's first strategic petroleum reserve in Mangalore. Adnoc will be putting six million barrels of their oil into caverns in Mangalore. I hope this is going to be the first of several agreements."

The MoU in the field of manpower will see both countries jointly administering the contractual employment of Indian workers in the UAE. As per the agreement, both the sides will work to integrate their labour related e-platforms for ending the existing malpractices, combat trafficking and organise collaborative programmes for education and awareness of contractual workers.

An MoU to facilitate development of joint projects, knowledge sharing, joint research and technology transfer in the railway sector was also signed.

To deepen bilateral cooperation in the field of finance, an MoU between Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) was signed and exchanged. The MoU envisages information exchange, exchange of experts and training for mutual benefit of both the countries in the financial sector. An MoU between Government of Jammu and Kashmir and DP World was also signed to establish multi-modal logistics park and hub in Jammu comprising warehouses and specialised storage solutions.

The two countries are expected to sign as many 14 agreements and bilateral deals during the historic visit.

Today, Modi will visit Wahat Al Karama, the UAE martyr's memorial in Abu Dhabi, and will proceed to Dubai. He will interact with the Indian community at an event at the Dubai Opera.

The PM will also meet His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and will deliver the keynote address at the 6th World Government Summit in Dubai.