New Delhi, September 12: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday met Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, with the two leaders discussing ways to further strengthen the India-UAE strategic partnership.
During the meeting, both sides reaffirmed the importance of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between India and the United Arab Emirates, which covers political relations, trade, investment, energy, culture and people-to-people ties.The leaders also recalled the high-level exchanges between the two countries this year, including UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s visit to India in January and Modi’s visit to the UAE in May.
Modi welcomed the UAE’s active participation in BRICS under India’s presidency. The two leaders expressed satisfaction over the progress achieved through the grouping and agreed to continue working together on issues of shared interest.
Economic cooperation was a key focus of the discussions. The leaders welcomed the UAE’s International Holding Company’s announcement of an investment of USD 11.5 billion in an integrated greenfield aluminium project in Odisha.
The proposed project is expected to become the largest integrated investment in India’s aluminium sector and could strengthen Odisha’s position as a major global aluminium manufacturing centre.
The two sides also discussed the potential role of L’imad, the UAE’s latest sovereign investment fund, in expanding investment opportunities and further deepening economic ties between the two countries.
Beyond trade and investment, Modi and Sheikh Khaled explored opportunities to enhance cooperation in strategic and emerging sectors, including defence, space, nuclear energy, technology and innovation.
The meeting underscored the importance of regular high-level engagement between India and the UAE and reflected the continued effort by both sides to expand their partnership across economic, strategic and emerging areas.
