New Delhi: India has had the closest of relations with the UAE among all the countries in the Gulf and the Middle East, according to an expert on the Gulf and Middle East at India’s prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.
“From all the countries in the Gulf and the Middle East, as well as other Arab states, India has had the closest of political relations with the UAE. The regular visits between the leadership of both the UAE and India is a reflection of that and remains the most enduring aspect of all governments in India,” Dr A.K. Pasha, director of the Gulf Studies Programme at the university, said yesterday (Wednesday). He was speaking at an interaction with the UAE media at the sprawling university campus in the heart of the Indian capital.
Commenting on the visit of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, who arrived in New Delhi yesterday (Wednesday) at the start of a three-day official visit to India, Pasha said: “Such visits indicate the high level of strategic importance both nations attach to each other. Since 1971, the UAE and India have enjoyed a very friendly relationship.”
Speaking at the interaction, Dr Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, Vice-Chancellor of UAE University, said: “The visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the UAE last year was very important. It’s not just the leadership of the UAE but at all levels of the UAE society that we see a commitment to strengthen this bilateral relationship further.”
Speaking about the dynamics of UAE-India ties, Al Nuaimi said: “This is not a partnership for profit, but a deep-rooted strategic relationship. The UAE has always successfully defended itself from external threats. India faces the same set of challenges and we need to cooperate not only to combat terrorism in every form but also to go to its roots and destroy it.”
According to Pasha, the UAE remains a very successful model of uniting the Arab world and aptly reflects the aspirations of its people. “For the Arab world and beyond, the UAE is an extremely successful attempt at unity. Its federal structure comprising seven emirates is a successful model,” he said.
“The human bond between the UAE and India extends not just to the people employed in the UAE, but it also impacts every state here in India — from which a large number of people have found new opportunities in the UAE,” he added.
