Prime Minister Modi will be in the United Arab Emirates on January 6; no visit to Kuwait, India News News
With a visit to the Dubai Expo and the signing of the India-United Arab Emirates Free Trade Agreement, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on 6 January.
Prime Minister Modi will visit the “India Pavilion” at the Dubai Expo. It is a massive four-story pavilion showcasing India’s culture, yoga, ayurveda and space programs.
The pavilion was inaugurated by India’s Trade Minister Piyush Goyal on October 1. It has been visited by many foreign leaders, including the Foreign Minister of Cyprus and the King of Sweden. The pavilion also has a model of the Ram Temple and the Hindu BAPS Temple being built in Abu Dhabi.
The second key focus of the visit will be the signing of the Free Trade Agreement between India and the United Arab Emirates. Earlier this month, Trade Minister Goyal said at an event that the FTA is an “outstanding achievement for India. It will open many doors for many sectors … it will be the fastest FTA ever concluded by India. A full FTA”.
Negotiations for the free trade agreement began in September. In the first week of December, the third round of the India-United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) was held in Delhi. Trade between the two countries has been robust. The UAE is India’s second largest export destination after the United States with an amount of over $ 30 billion for the year 2018-19.
For the United Arab Emirates, India was the second largest trading partner in 2018 with USD 36 billion (non-oil trade). The United Arab Emirates has committed $ 100 billion in investment and infrastructure creation in India.
India and the United Arab Emirates have “extensive strategic partnerships” and have seen increased engagement at all levels.
Prime Minister Modi visited the West Asian country in 2015, 2018 and 2019. The United Arab Emirates has awarded the Prime Minister the highest civilian award “the Order of Zayed”. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, (MBZ) Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the UAE Armed Forces had visited India in February 2016. MBZ visited India again in January 2017 as the main guest at the celebration of Republic Day of India.
The country’s diaspora forms a deep contact with India. The UAE hosts one of the largest populations of Indians outside of India. The Indian expatriate community is about 3.3 million, which is the largest ethnic community in the United Arab Emirates and makes up about 30 percent of the country’s population. Among the Indian states, Kerala is the most represented followed by Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Indians from the northern states also make up a significant portion of the UAE’s population.
Prime Minister Modi will not travel to Kuwait as previously reported. The most recent high-level visit from India to the country under the current Modi government was by Foreign Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar in June. During the visit, the EAM called Kuwait’s Prime Minister and held a meeting with Kuwait’s Foreign Minister. The last Prime Minister’s visit from India to Kuwait was by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1981 and work is underway for Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the country soon.
Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the United Arab Emirates will be his first visit abroad in 2022. More visits are planned next year, including to Denmark, Germany, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and others, but the situation with covid-19 globally will weigh on how the plan progresses.
In 2021, PM traveled to Bangladesh, the United States, Italy and the United Kingdom for a bilateral visit and summits such as the Quad, G20 and climate summit.