Prime Minister of India, H.E. Mr. Narendra Modi paid an official visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from 13 to 14 February 2024.
The visit was Prime Minister Modi’s seventh visit to the UAE since 2015 and the third in the last eight months. During the visit, Prime Minister held bilateral meetings with His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the UAE. The two leaders discussed ways to further deepen, expand and strengthen the strategic partnership between the countries and exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual interest.
At the invitation of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister, Defence Minister, and the Ruler of Dubai, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi participated in the World Governments Summit in Dubai as Guest of Honour, on 14 February 2024. He delivered the special keynote address on the theme of the Summit – “Shaping the Future Governments”. Prime Minister had attended the World Governments Summit in 2018, also as Guest of Honour. The Summit this time saw participation of 20 world leaders, including 10 Presidents and 10 Prime Ministers.
Governments and delegates from over 120countries were represented at the global gathering.
In his address, Prime Minister shared his thoughts on the changing nature of governance. He highlighted India’s transformative reforms based on the mantra of “Minimum Government, Maximum Governance”. Sharing Indian experience on how the country had leveraged digital technology to further welfare, inclusivity and sustainability, he called for a human- centric approach to governance. He also underlined India’s focus on people’s participation, last-mile-delivery and women-led development to achieve an inclusive society.
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Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated BAPS Hindu Mandir in Abu Dhabi Prime Minister Modi emphasised that given the inter-connected nature of the world, governments must collaborate and learn from each other to address future challenges. He highlighted that it was the need of the hour for governance to be Inclusive, Tech- smart, Clean and Transparent, and Green. In this context, he further emphasised that governments must prioritise – Ease of Living, Ease of Justice, Ease of Mobility, Ease of Innovation and Ease of Doing Business in their approach to public service. Elaborating on India’s steadfast commitment to Climate Change action, he called for people to join Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) to create a sustainable world.
Prime Minister Modi elaborated on the leadership role played by India as the chair of G-20 last year, on a wide range of issues and challenges facing the world. In this context, he highlighted the efforts made by India to bring development concerns facing the Global South to the centre-stage of global discourse. Calling for reform of multilateral institutions, he pushed for greater voice for the Global South in its decision making. India, he stressed, will continue to contribute to global progress based on its role as a “Vishwa Bandhu”.
Prime Minister Modi also inaugurated the BAPS Mandir, the first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi. Prime Minister Modi addressed the Indian community in the UAE at ‘AHLAN MODI’, an event organized in his honour by the Indian community in the UAE. The event drew participation from Indian Diaspora from across the 7 Emirates and included Indians from all communities. The audience also included Emiratis.
Prime Minister Modi was greeted with special warmth by the 40000 strong audience as he entered the arena at the Zayed Sports City stadium in Abu Dhabi. In his address, Prime Minister shared his thoughts on the contribution made by the Indian Diaspora to further strengthening bilateral relations between India and the UAE. Prime Minister thanked the Rulers and the Government of the UAE for their graciousness and care shown towards the Indian community. In particular, he mentioned the special care taken during difficult Covid times when Indian diaspora was provided all possible assistance. Prime Minister also shared his vision for the progress achieved by the country in the last 10 years and expressed confidence that India will become the third largest economy by 2030 on its way to becoming a developed country – Viksit Bharat – by 2047. He also dwelt on India being a “Vishwabandhu” and contributing to global progress and well-being.
The UAE is home to about 3.5 million Indian nationals making it the largest population of Indian citizens anywhere in the world. Preparations for “AHLAN MODI” had been going on for several months to make the event truly memorable.
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 Shri Narendra Modi to UAE in August 2015, bilateral relations between the two countries 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 2023 to promote the use of Indian Rupee and AED for cross-border transactions.
The two countries are among each other’s top trading partners with a bilateral trade of about US$ 85 billion in 2022-23. UAE is also among the top 4 investors in India in terms of foreign direct investments in 2022-23.