In a bid to further strengthen the strategic partnership, India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will carry out a comprehensive review of their ties on Thursday as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will host his counterpart from the Gulf nation Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan for wide ranging talks in Delhi.
Al Nahyan who is also the deputy prime minister of UAE is on a three-day visit to India to explore ways to further expand ties between the two countries in a range of key areas including trade and investment.
Jaishankar and Al Nahyan will review the entire gamut of bilateral strategic ties at a meeting, officials said. Significantly the meeting comes as Syria goes through a political turmoil with a change in its regime. The two leaders are expected to discuss the crises facing the middle east in great detail.
Bashar-al-Assad’s regime came to an end after he was ousted by rebel groups in Syria. The Assad family has taken Asylum in Moscow, Russian officials said.
Al Nahyan is also scheduled to call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. After Modi's landmark visit to the UAE in August 2015, bilateral relations between the two countries were elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
The bilateral trade and investment ties witnessed a major upswing after the sides inked a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) in 2022.
The trade pact provides for numerous benefits, including the elimination and reduction of tariffs, fostering an open trade environment, and enhances market access for service providers across various sectors.
It also addresses technical barriers and provides access to government procurement opportunities.
The two countries are among each other's top trading partners with a bilateral trade of about USD 85 billion in 2022-23, according to official data.
The UAE is also among the top four investors in India in terms of foreign direct investments in 2022-23.
(With PTI inputs)
