UAE-India: A partnership in step with India’s rise

As India celebrates its 77th Republic Day, it does so as a nation confident in its destiny and propelled by the innovation, enterprise, and the aspirations of its people. Today, India stands as the world’s fourth-largest economy, among the fastest-growing globally, and is set to become the world’s third-largest economy by end of this decade.

As a young, dynamic, and future-ready nation with a booming economy and significant technological heft, India is positioning itself for a pivotal leadership role on the global stage.

This moment of national pride offers an apt opportunity to reflect on one of India’s most enduring and forward-looking partnerships – that with the UAE, a relationship defined not merely by strategic alignment, but by deep-rooted friendship.

The extraordinary warmth in India–UAE relations is a direct reflection of the strong bonhomie between the leadership on both sides. This was clearly evident in the warm embrace between Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi and President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, during the latter’s visit to India last week. This was the third visit of Sheikh Mohamed to India in the past three years mirroring the three visits by Prime Minister Modi to the UAE during the period.

The visits to India by Sheikh Khaled Bin Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, in September 2024, and Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the UAE, and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, in April 2025 and January 2026, demonstrate that the deep conviction in the India-UAE partnership is firmly shared by the next generation of leadership.

These frequent high-level exchanges have deepened cooperation between the two countries in trade, energy, infrastructure, education, and connectivity, while simultaneously opening new frontiers in space, defence, polar cooperation, nuclear energy, green technologies and critical minerals.

A defining milestone of this partnership has been bilateral trade crossing $100 billion (Dh367 billion) this year, positioning the UAE among India’s most significant global partners. Buoyed by this achievement, during Sheikh Mohamed’s visit to India last week, the two countries have decided to double the bilateral trade to $200 billion by 2032. The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) signed in 2022, followed by the Bilateral Investment Treaty in 2024, is catalysing the spurt in bilateral trade.

The UAE today is India’s third-largest trading partner and second-largest export destination, while India is the UAE’s second-largest trading partner.

The strong presence of the UAE’s financial and commercial entities, marked by the opening of offices of the UAE companies and entities in India’s GIFT City – such as Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Mashreq Bank, and DP World to name a few, and Dubai Chamber of Commerce’s second India office in Bengaluru – underscores enduring confidence in India’s growth story.

In a significant development, the two countries signed Letter of Intent on the UAE’s partnership for development of Special Investment Region in Dholera, Gujarat, during President Sheikh Mohamed’s visit to India.

Innovative collaborations in digital payments, local currency trade, AI, data centres, food parks, nuclear energy, and connectivity, along with initiatives such as UPI-AANI integration, Jaywan card, Virtual Trade Corridor and Bharat Mart in Dubai, are emblematic of a partnership that is as modern as it is ambitious. What makes this partnership exceptional is how naturally our strengths complement each other, bringing our nations closer than ever before.

In a complex global environment, India and the UAE share robust defence and security cooperation. During Sheikh Mohamed’s visit to India, both countries agreed to work towards concluding a strategic defence partnership. It is symbolic of the shared commitment to regional and global peace and security. Joint bilateral and multilateral exercises such as Desert Cyclone, Gulf Waves, and Desert Flag X, along with growing collaboration in defence manufacturing and innovation, testify to deep strategic complementarity. Mutual participation in Defence platforms in both countries — from IDEX and Dubai Air Show to Aero India and DefExpo — symbolise the strengthening defence partnership.

Education partnership between the two countries has become a cornerstone of the broader comprehensive strategic partnership. From the inauguration of IIT Delhi-Abu Dhabi by Sheikh Khaled in 2024 to the opening of IIM Ahmedabad’s Dubai campus by Sheikh Hamdan last year, both nations remain committed to equipping the next generation of leaders for an innovation-led economy.

At the heart of India-UAE relations lies a vibrant living bridge — over 4 million-strong Indian community in the UAE. Their contributions have been integral to the UAE’s development, while their success reflects the country’s inclusive and forward-looking ethos and the generosity of its leaders.

The inauguration of the BAPS Hindu Temple in Abu Dhabi stands as a moving symbol of cultural harmony, mutual respect, and the deep trust between our societies. Announced during Sheikh Mohamed’s visit, the two countries have decided to establish the House of India in the UAE as a symbol of our deep-rooted friendship.

As India marks its 77th Republic Day, it does so with gratitude for partnerships that have grown not only through agreements, but through shared values, shared aspirations, and shared lives. The India–UAE relationship is no longer defined by geography — it is defined by closeness of purpose and unity of vision. This partnership is about more than economics or strategy. It is about people believing in each other, nations growing together, and futures being shaped jointly.

As India and the UAE walk forward hand in hand, their friendship will continue to stand as a beacon of what trust, respect, and vision can achieve in our world.