New Delhi: The UAE and India on Wednesday added a new momentum to their deepening bilateral engagement, signing a total of 14 wide-ranging agreements including a strategic comprehensive partnership and deals on defence and maritime cooperation.
His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of UAE Armed Forces, witnessed the exchange of the memorandums of understanding with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the sprawling Hyderabad House in the heart of the Indian capital New Delhi.
As the wintry morning gave way to a bright sunlit day, Shaikh Mohammad and Modi arrived shortly after noon at the Hyderabad House, an exquisite early 20th century mansion originally built by Sir Edward Lutyens for the last Nizam of Hyderabad. It is here that both nations engaged in full delegation-level talks before the eventual announcement of the 14 bilateral agreements.
In celebration of Shaikh Mohammad’s presence and the ensuing Republic Day, prominent areas and landmarks of the Indian capital were decorated with festive lights and lines of palm trees, while the UAE and Indian flags could be seen fluttering at almost all major roundabouts and traffic junctions of the city.
Shaikh Mohammad, who will be the chief guest at the 68th Indian Republic Day celebrations on Thursday, welcomed the strengthening bond between the UAE and India and praised the new impetus in bilateral ties.
Speaking on the occasion, Shaikh Mohammad said, “I’d like to seize this opportunity to reiterate my happiness at visiting India, especially during this festive occasion where we share with the Indian people their Republic Day celebrations.
“Today, we are living through a significant moment in the history of both countries’ relations. The comprehensive strategic partnership agreement and other agreements signed between the UAE and India represent a paradigm shift in both countries’ present and future, and open unprecedented and wider scopes of cooperation and joint action,” Shaikh Mohammad added.
Modi, in a speech following the exchange of the MoUs, said: “The UAE is one of our most valued partners and a close friend in an important region of the world. I have just concluded very fruitful and productive discussions with His Highness [Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed]. We particularly focused on implementation of various decisions taken during our last two meetings. We agreed to sustain the momentum of our relations in key areas, including energy and investments.”
The first of the agreements — on a comprehensive strategic partnership between the UAE and India — was exchanged by Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and Manohar Parikkar, Indian Minister of Defence. The partnership, in development since the visits of Modi to the UAE in November 2015 and Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed to India last February, substantially elevates mutual relations, the Indian prime minister said. “We have shaped an ambitious road map of engagement to make our comprehensive strategic partnership purposeful and action oriented. The agreement that was exchanged just now has institutionalised this understanding,” he said.
Modi also underscored the significance of the agreement on oil storage facility and said: “Our energy partnership is an important bridge in our linkages. It contributes to our energy security ... His Highness and I discussed ways to transform our energy ties in a strategic direction through specific projects and proposals. In this regard, long-term supply contracts and establishment of joint ventures in the energy sector can be beneficial avenues.”
An agreement on institutional cooperation on maritime transport, exchanged between Dr Anwar Mohammad Gargash, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, and Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways, is expected to simplify customs and other formalities and enable shipping companies in both countries to enter into further arrangements for sustainable trading.
Highlighting the potential for mutual growth in the infrastructure and transport sector, Modi said several Indian companies were interested in helping build the infrastructure for the World Expo 2020 in Dubai. “We regard the UAE as an important partner in India’s growth story. I particularly welcome UAE’s interest in investing in India’s infrastructure sector,” he said.
