PM Modi holds bilateral talks with Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi

New Delhi, Sep 9 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral discussions with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, at Hyderabad House on Monday.

The Prime Minister received the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and the two leaders greeted each other with a handshake and a warm hug.

The Crown Prince, on his first official visit to India, is scheduled to meet with President Droupadi Murmu and pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat.

Arriving in New Delhi on Sunday, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed was received by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal at the airport with a ceremonial welcome.

Accompanied by a delegation of UAE ministers and business leaders, this visit highlights the deepening ties between the two nations.

The visit focusses on enhancing cooperation across various sectors, marking another step in strengthening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between India and the UAE.

On September 10, the Crown Prince is set to travel to Mumbai, where he will attend a business forum with key business figures from both India and the UAE.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) underscored the importance of the visit, stating, "India and UAE share historically close and friendly ties. In recent years, the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between India and UAE has deepened in a wide range of areas, including political, trade, investment, connectivity, energy, technology, education, and culture."

"The Crown Prince's visit will further reinforce strong India-UAE bilateral relations and open avenues for partnership in new and emerging areas," the MEA’s statement further read.

Earlier this year, in January, UAE President His Highness Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited India to strengthen bilateral relations.

Additionally, he attended the 10th Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, where new avenues for cooperation between the two countries were explored.Prime Minister Modi, on his part, has visited the UAE multiple times since 2015, reinforcing India-UAE relations. His most recent visit was in July 2023, marking his fifth trip to the UAE since becoming the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the nation in over three decades.

India-UAE trade surged to $85 billion in 2022, making the nation India's third-largest trading partner in 2022-23 and second-largest export destination. India, in turn, ranks as the UAE's second-largest trading partner, according to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).The relationship between the two countries was officially upgraded to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan's visit to India in 2017.