Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to New Delhi on September 9, 2024. This was the Crown Prince’s first official visit to India since taking office. The two leaders held bilateral talks at the Hyderabad House to strengthen the ties between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
PM Modi and the Crown Prince discussed a wide range of areas where the two countries can
cooperate, including politics, trade, investment, connectivity, energy, technology, education, and culture. India considers its relationship with the UAE to be of great importance, and this visit by the Crown Prince, who is part of the next generation of UAE leadership, highlights the significance India places on its ties with the UAE.
In addition to meeting with PM Modi, the Crown Prince also called on President Droupadi Murmu. He is scheduled to visit Mumbai on September 10 to participate in a Business Forum, where top business leaders from both countries will gather. Since PM Modi’s landmark visit to the UAE in August 2015, the first by an Indian Prime Minister in 34 years, bilateral relations between the two countries have been elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
India is the UAE’s second-largest trading partner, while the UAE is India’s largest trading partner in the Arab world. Total trade between India and the UAE is projected to reach $100 billion by the end of the decade. In 2022-23, the bilateral trade between the two countries was about $85 billion, according to official data. The UAE is also among the top four investors in India in terms of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in 2022-23.