PM Modi hosts UAE President: Massive USD 200 bn trade target, LNG deal signed

India and the United Arab Emirates on Monday set a target of USD 200 billion in annual trade by 2032 and agreed to seal a strategic defence pact while boosting cooperation in energy space and civil nuclear sectors with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan laying out a broad agenda to shore up tiesModi welcomed Al Nahyan at the Delhi airport with a hug and then they travelled together in the same vehicle to the prime ministers residence where they held talks in the restricted as well as delegationlevel formats This has been a short but extremely substantive visit Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said at a media briefing after the UAE leader concluded his nearly threeandahalfhour visit that came amid increasing tensions in the Middle East and trade disruptions caused by Washingtons policy on tariffsThe two sides decided to explore a partnership in advanced nuclear technologies including development of large nuclear reactors and small modular reactors as well as cooperation in advanced reactor systems and nuclear power plant operations he said A longterm agreement for the supply of 05 million metric tonnes of LNG Liquefied Natural Gas annually was concluded by the two sides The UAE is Indias secondlargest supplier of LNG to India after QatarArtificial Intelligence was identified as a priority area of cooperation and it was decided to collaborate on setting up a supercomputing cluster in India with the UAE partnership Misri said adding the Gulf nation will also look at investments for expanding data centre capacities in IndiaThe foreign secretary said the two sides also set a target of USD 200 billion in annual trade by 2032 The volume of twoway trade between the two sides was USD 84 billion in 202324 The two sides also resolved to significantly expand their defence tiesA letter of intent was signed between the two sides to work towards concluding a framework agreement for a strategic defence partnership between India and the UAE Misri saidAnother letter of intent was also signed for joint work in developing space infrastructure Under this initiative both sides will look to set up new launch complexes satellite fabrication facilities joint missions space academy and training centres the foreign secretary saidA separate document was signed to facilitate the UAEs participation in the development of a special investment region in Gujarats Dholera This initiative will look at the establishment of an international airport a pilot training school an MRO Maintenance Repair and Overhaul facility a greenfield port a smart urban township as well as projects related to railway connectivity and energy infrastructure Misri addedThe discussions between Modi and Al Nahyan focused on cooperation in several new and emerging areas including new opportunities for civil nuclear cooperation in the light of the passage of the Shanti Act in India An agreement on food safety was also signed It will provide for cooperation in the food sector and encourage food products and other agricultural exports from India to the UAE It will benefit the farmers of India and contribute to food security in the UAE the foreign secretary saidBoth sides will also explore the possibility of setting up a data embassy Misri said This is a relatively new concept but there will be work done to see how these can be set up under mutually recognised sovereignty agreements he notedThe foreign secretary said the situation in Yemen Gaza and Iran was discussed at the talks but declined to elaborate All of these issues were discussed between the leaders I cannot get into the details at this stage but yes both leaders had the opportunity to share their views and opinions in detail on these issues he saidMisri said Modi and Al Nahyan unequivocally condemned crossborder terrorism and held that the perpetrators supporters and financiers of all acts of terrorism must be brought to justiceThe UAE president expressed his support for the success of Indias chairmanship of the BRICS grouping this yearThere has been a significant upswing in bilateral trade and peopletopeople ties after New Delhi and Abu Dhabi inked an ambitious comprehensive economic partnership agreement in 2022The UAE president was seen off at the airport by External Affairs Minister S JaishankarThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever