The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s interaction with leaders and businessmen in UAE would provide fresh impetus to trade and investment relations between the two nations.
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The Prime Minister’s two-day trip to the United Arab Emirates or UAE, concluded with the mega reception billed as “Marhaba NaMo”, at the cricket stadium filled with 40,000 people, who constantly chanted his name.
Modi got the cheering crowd of Indians to give a standing ovation to Abu Dhabi Crown Prince HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan for his gesture in giving land for a temple for Indians.
“There are 700 flights between India and the UAE, but it took 34 years for an Indian prime minister to visit“, Modi reportedly said.
Prime Minister Modi, who was addressing an Investors Summit at Masdar city, said India’s growth potential and UAE’s strength together can make this Asia’s century.
India’s export to the gulf country was $33 billion during the last financial year, while UAE was the sixth largest supplier of crude oil to India.
At present, the India-UAE trade is estimated to be around $60 billion and the gulf country’s investment in India is around $8 billion.
With around 2.6 million Indians living in the UAE, Indians not only outnumber the local Emirati population, but also comprise around a third of the total population in the UAE, a federation of seven emirates that includes Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The UAE, now the world’s fastest growing economy, is flush with funds and is scouting for safe investments. “Those involved in terrorism must be punished and this message has come out clearly from here”, he said while referring to the India-UAE joint statement which talked about collective fight against terrorism.
He visited Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, where he reflected on the monument as a symbol of “peace, piety, harmony and inclusiveness that are inherent to the faith of Islam”. During his Bangladesh visit in June 2015 Modi had blamed Islamabad for backing terror activities against India.
“We do hope and pray that there would be action coming in from the prime minister and we do hope to wait and see that certain deliverables are on the table, because there is a huge Indian community in these regions”, said Tom Vadakkan, a spokesperson of the Indian National Congress. Many hold construction jobs, building the UAE’s dazzling skyscrapers and shopping centers.
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On efforts to boost intra-SAARC connectivity on the pattern of European Union, Modi said that “some people” had problems, in oblique reference to Pakistan which was not forthcoming in finalising a pact. To these, Modi assured that these problems will be resolved.
