During a high-profile visit to Abu Dhabi and Dubai on February 13–14, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will sign a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) with President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, bringing India and the UAE’s economies closer.
For the uninitiated, UAE is India’s seventh-largest trade partner of India and third-largest FDI source.
The Hindustan Times has reported that while the Modi government is silent about the visit, it has emerged that the PM’s trip to UAE will be a significant moment, given that India has already had a wide-ranging economic partnership agreement with Abu Dhabi since February 2022.
It may be recalled that India signed a deal with the UAE in 2023 to buy 1.2 million metric tons of LNG as part of its efforts to diversify its gas purchases and avoid being solely dependent on one Gulf nation.
Following the Modi cabinet’s approval of the treaty on February 1, India now only shares a BIT and CEPA with the United Arab Emirates. Even though they don’t have a BIT, South Korea, Japan, and Singapore have a CEPA with India.
In addition to his bilateral meeting with President MBZ, PM Modi will also be meeting with Sheikh Rashid A Maktoum in Dubai, The HT report added.
President MBZ, with whom PM Modi has a close relationship, surprised everyone this year when he spoke at the Vibrant Gujarat event. The ruler of the UAE seldom speaks at international events such as the G-20 in India or the COP 28 in the UAE.
Although India currently purchases crude from the United Arab Emirates in local currency, GAIL and the UAE inked a deal last Monday to purchase 0.5 million metric tons of natural gas from the Emirates.
India and UAE have also joined hands for the Middle-East Economic Corridor project, which connects Mundra Port in Gujarat to Fujairah Port in UAE by sea, then to Saudi Arabia and Jordan by railroad and there on to Europe via sea as the new trade route to compete with the Chinese new Silk Road project and North-South corridor via Iran.
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