Abu Dhabi: A senior Indian diplomat, who just completed her official stint in the UAE, said she witnessed history being made between India and UAE in the past two years.
“I was fortunate to see, first time in my 22-year long service, history being made in diplomatic relations between two nations,” Neeta Bhushan, who relinquished the position of the deputy head of the mission at the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, told Gulf News. She served as chargé d’affaires at the embassy off and on for five months during her 2.5-year stint. She will take up her new position as the Indian consul-general in Chicago soon.
Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi’s visit to the UAE in August 2015, was the most important task she handled in her career. “The visit was historic but later I realised it was the beginning of another important history in relations,” Bhushan said in an interview before leaving the UAE on Friday.
“When we got the confirmation of the visit just 10 days before, we were conscious of its importance as it was an Indian prime minister’s visit to the UAE after 34 years,” she said.
Indira Gandhi’s visit in 1981 was the previous prime ministerial visit to the UAE.
“It was a herculean task to make all arrangements in 10 days,” she recalled.
The Indian missions led by the then ambassador, T.P Seetharam, and the consul-general, Anurag Bhushan, were able to put everything in order in time in cooperation with UAE officials.
“The prime minister’s visit was a huge success,” she said.
The prime minister’s successful visit led to unprecedented diplomatic interactions between both nations and Indian missions had a busy time afterwards. The bilateral cooperation was extended to many new sectors. Modi’s visit and reciprocal India visit of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, in February 2016, elevated the relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership. “Shaikh Mohammad’s second visit now shows closeness of our partnership,” she said.
Bhushan had the chance to receive many of the senior Indian ministers who came for official visits to the UAE. Sushma Swaraj [External Affairs], Arun Jaitly [Finance], Nitin Gadkari [Road Transport and Highways, and Shipping], Dharmendra Pradhan [Petroleum and Natural Gas], Jayant Sinha [Civil Aviation], and Piyush Goel [Energy] held important talks with the UAE officials. M.J Akbar, Minister of State for External Affairs, visited the UAE twice after assuming office last year.
“I am grateful to Indian government and the host country- the UAE for their support and cooperation in making my assignment fruitful,” Bhushan said.
Bhushan, who is taking up her next assignment in Chicago, said her experience with 2.6 million Indians in the UAE would help her interact with a big Indian community in the US. “The Consulate-General of Chicago caters to around half a million Indians in nine states in the entire Midwest in the US and my UAE experience will help there a lot,” she said.
Most of the Indian community in Chicago are business persons and professionals in academics, IT medical and related sectors, she said.
Interacting with the diverse Indian community in the UAE was a fulfilling experience. “They maintain the Indian qualities of harmony and peace. They are united, above all other interests of their identities,” Bhushan said.
They come together to help themselves and others. Indian community’s help to Nepal earthquake victims was notable, she said. It was her fourth foreign assignment after Japan, Bangladesh and Germany.
