Abu Dhabi: UAE and India have common interests and a large appetite for elevating the already growing and thriving relationship to new strategic heights, Dr Anwar Mohammad Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, said on Sunday.
“The aim of 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, will pay to India is to send the already excellent relationships between the two countries to new strategic heights,” Dr Gargash told a news conference in Abu Dhabi.
Dr Gargash said the very important visit comes to build on the outcome of the very successful visit paid by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the UAE in August last year.
The visit, he said, is part of the UAE’s engagement with major countries in the world and Asia in particular.
Shaikh Mohammad will start a three-day official visit to India on Wednesday.
Shaikh Mohammad, who leads a high-profile delegation, will hold talks with Prime Minister Modi and senior officials in New Delhi.
Stressing the close ties rooted in history and culture, Dr Gargash said India used to be our “window on the world through trading in pearl via Mumbai. This is in addition to a generation who studied in India. But our ties should not remain captivated in history. We have to further develop our ties”, Dr Gargash said.
With bilateral trade at $60 billion (Dh220.38 billion), UAE is the third largest trading partner for India.
Dr Gargash said the two countries seek to increase two-way trade by 60 per cent in five years while significantly boosting investment.
He noted that UAE has a large appetite for promoting bilateral investment. “There is a large belief in the credibility, sustainability and growth of India’s economy,” Dr Gargash said.
During the Indian leader’s visit last year, both sides agreed to create a $75 billion fund to invest in Indian infrastructure. The fund will support the expansion of India’s network of railways, ports, roads, airports and industrial corridors.
Dr Gargash said one of the triggers of India’s growth is infrastructure “and we want to be part of this growth”.
UAE-India talks, Dr Gargash said, will be centred on exploring mechanisms to expand the participation of the UAE’s investment institutions in infrastructure projects in India.
Dr Gargash said: “We hope to see areas of further cooperation across a variety of sectors, including energy, aviation, technology, infrastructure and SMEs.”
He added this visit is also part of the UAE’s efforts to build relationships across Asia, strengthen its role as a gateway to the Middle East and serve as the bridge between the economic poles of the East and West.
“These bridges we build with countries and cultures are shaped by the UAE’s principles of peace, prosperity, stability, tolerance and unity. These have formed the basis of our relationships for more than four decades, and will continue to be the foundation of our engagement with other nations,” Dr Gargash said.
Dr Gargash added Shaikh Mohammad’s visit to India underscores the increasing depth and vast potential of the UAE-India relationship. “It provides both countries the opportunity to discuss shared agendas, and advance important areas of cooperation, including trade and investment, economic growth, energy, climate change and regional stability. “
Dr Gargash stressed the close friendship between the UAE and India is built on common goals, values and a sense of shared history — one that goes as far back as ancient pearling routes.
“Today, the mutually beneficial economic relationship between the two countries is dynamic. India is the UAE’s largest trading partner while the UAE is India’s third largest trading partner,” Dr Gargash said.
