PM Modi arrives in UAE for final leg of two-nation visit

ABUDHABI:Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived here on Saturday on a day-long visit to the UAE during which he will meet UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and review the burgeoning bilateral ties between the two strategic partners.

Modi arrived in Abu Dhabi following his successful two-day visit to Paris where he joined French President Emmanuel Macron for the Bastille Day parade as the Guest of Honour and signed several agreements to bolster bilateral ties.

Prime Minister Modi will hold talks with Sheikh Al Nahyan, President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi.

''I look forward to meeting my friend, H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan,'' Prime Minister Modi said in his departure statement on Thursday.

''Our two countries are engaged across a wide range of sectors such as trade, investments, energy, food security, science and technology, education, fintech, defence, security, and robust people-to-people ties,'' he said.

Energy, food security, and defence are expected to be the focus areas of Modi's visit to the UAE during which the two countries will review the progress in bilateral relations after they inked a landmark trade agreement.

The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which gave a new thrust to the economic engagement between the two countries, was signed during the Covid-19 pandemic.

India and the UAE are engaged across various sectors such as trade, investments, energy, food security, science and technology, education, fintech, defence, security, and robust people-to-people ties.

The Indian expatriate community is the largest ethnic community in UAE constituting roughly 30 per cent of the country’s population. The number of resident Indian Nationals was estimated to be 3.5 million in 2021 as per the UAE records.