In a significant scale-up of bilateral relations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of the UAE Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Tuesday reviewed the partnership between India and the UAE during an one-on-one and delegation level talks which included discussions on new areas of cooperation and deepening of the comprehensive strategic partnership across trade and investment, digital infrastructure, fintech, energy, infrastructure, culture and people to people ties.
Economic relations are set for a stronger momentum with the exchange of a Bilateral Investment Treaty between the two partners which will be a key enabler for further promoting investments in both countries. India has also signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with UAE. In an MoU on cooperation in the field of electrical interconnection and trade, India and the UAE opened new areas of collaboration in the field of energy, including energy security and energy trade.
An Intergovernmental Framework Agreement between India and UAE on the India-Middle East Economic Corridor was also exchanged. This would build on previous understandings and cooperation on this matter and foster India and the UAE cooperation furthering regional connectivity. Another important MoU signed between India and the UAE relates to digital infrastructure projects. This will create a framework for investment cooperation, in the digital infrastructure sector and also facilitate sharing of technical knowledge, skills and expertise.
The two sides also became signatories to the interlinking of the instant payment platforms – UPI (India) and AANI (UAE). This will facilitate seamless cross-border transactions between the two countries. This follows the MoU on interlinking payment and messaging systems signed in July last year during Modi’s visit to Abu Dhabi. An agreement on inter-linking domestic debit/credit cards – RuPay (India) with JAYWAN (UAE) was also exchanged as a crucial step in building financial sector cooperation which will also enhance the universal acceptance of RuPay across the UAE. The two leaders witnessed the launch of UAE’s domestic card JAYWAN, which is based on the digital RuPay credit and debit card stack and a transaction made using the card.
The strengthening of energy partnership is underscored by the UAE’s role as among the largest sources of crude and LPG for India, boosted further by long term contracts for LNG. Ahead of the visit, RITES Limited signed an agreement with Abu Dhabi Ports Company and Gujarat Maritime Board with Abu Dhabi Ports Company to help in building port infrastructure and further enhance connectivity between the two countries.
