PM Modi Begins UAE Visit Today, Energy Cooperation High on Agenda

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the United Arab Emirates on Friday as part of efforts to further strengthen the bilateral Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries.

During the visit, PM Modi will hold talks with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on a wide range of issues, including energy cooperation, trade, investment and regional developments.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), both leaders will discuss ways to deepen the already strong political, economic, cultural and people-to-people ties between India and the UAE.

“The visit will serve to promote the significant trade and investment linkages between the two countries,” the MEA said in a statement.

Energy security is expected to remain one of the major focus areas during the visit. Official sources indicated that two important Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) related to LPG cooperation and strategic petroleum reserves are likely to be signed.

The UAE currently stands as India’s third-largest trading partner and the seventh-largest source of cumulative investment over the last 25 years. The country is also home to more than 4.5 million Indians, making the welfare of the Indian diaspora another key discussion point during the visit.

MEA Secretary (West) Sibi George said the Prime Minister’s foreign tour will span six days and include visits to the UAE, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Italy.

In the second leg of the tour, PM Modi will travel to the Netherlands, marking his second visit there since 2017. During the visit, he is scheduled to meet King Willem-Alexander, Queen Máxima and Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten.

The Prime Minister will then head to Sweden, where he will hold bilateral talks with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in Gothenburg to review bilateral relations and explore new areas of cooperation, particularly in trade and innovation.

Both leaders will also jointly address the European Round Table for Industry along with Ursula von der Leyen.

In the fourth leg of the trip, PM Modi will visit Norway on Monday to participate in the 3rd India-Nordic Summit and hold bilateral meetings.

The final leg of the tour will take him to Italy on Tuesday, where he will meet President Sergio Mattarella and hold talks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

With inputs from IANS