Abu Dhabi: India has always supported all just Arab causes, Indian President Pratibha Patil said, onboard the aircraft to the UAE.

The ‘civilizational’ links between India and the UAE ,stretching back over millennia are well known, according to the president’s departure statement on board a special aircraft to the UAE.

Intercontinetal Hotel in Abu Dhabi, where she is staying, decorated its premises with Indian national flags to welcome the president.

"We have dedicated three floors comprises of 60 rooms for the president and her delegation," Dania Malki, PR and Communications Director at InterContinental, told Gulf News. She said the hotel’s chefs have made elaborate arrangements to treat the president’s delegation.

But Gulf News learned that the president has flown in her own chef to cook vegetarian food for her.

First official visit to the Gulf

Patil’s two-nations state visit to the UAE and Syria is her first official visit to the Gulf and the West Asia regions. "My visit will, I am confident, reaffirm India’s interest to strengthen ties with countries in these regions, which are a part of our extended neighbourhood," she said.

Patil is visiting the UAE at the invitation of His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE and the ruler of Abu Dhabi. "I will be meeting with a wide cross section of the UAE polity and society during my visit, which takes me to Dubai and Sharjah besides Abu Dhabi," the president said.

India has enjoyed historic, warm, friendly and multifaceted relations with the UAE. The Arabian Sea was the ancient highway across which our ancestors exchanged goods, ideas and much more.

"It is, therefore, no surprise that our ties which flourished through the ages have deepened and broadened in contemporary times. Since the creation of the UAE Federation in 1971, these links have been nurtured and sustained by exchange of high level visits," she said.

"Our relationship with the UAE is free of any irritants which enables us to focus on the many positives that define our relationship. I look forward to my discussions with His Highness Shaikh Khalifa as well as other dignitaries, so that we can look at ways and means to further strengthen our bilateral ties in order to realize the full potential that exists between our two friendly countries," Patil said.

"I will also be interacting with the business community, both Indian and local, in the UAE. Our bilateral trade which stood at a modest figure of around $ 180 million in the early seventies, is today valued at $ 43 billion, which makes the UAE one of our leading trade partners. While emphasizing the possibilities of further expanding our trade, I will highlight the tremendous scope for investing in India’s infrastructure. Our fast growing stable economy with its strong fundamentals makes India an attractive investment destination," the president said.

"The UAE is one of our leading suppliers of crude oil, playing an important role in the energy security of India. As a country whose energy requirements will increase significantly in the years to come, continued co-operation in this sector is important," she said.

"In particular, I look forward to meeting with our countrymen who, thanks to the welcome and encouragement received from the host government and the people, have through their hard work and dedication, contributed to the development and well-being of the host country. Their positive contribution is no doubt a major factor behind the fact that the Indian community is the largest expatriate community in the UAE. My programme includes several elements, which would give me a glimpse of the various facets of the Indian community in the UAE. I would be interacting with the children of the Abu Dhabi Indian School and meeting with the students at the Dubai Academic City. I would also have the opportunity to inaugurate the new premises of the Indian Islamic Centre in Abu Dhabi. The welfare of the overseas Indian community, particularly our workers, is always uppermost in my mind. I am, therefore, happy that I will be inaugurating the Indian Workers’ Resource Centre in Dubai," Patil explained.