3 months ago
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At a clip of important churn successful planetary geopolitical equations, relations betwixt India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) basal retired for their singular stableness and a dependable deepening. The precise little sojourn of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan ((MbZ) to India, past week, was a wide reflection of this robustness. The January 19, 2026 sojourn was substantive, outcome-oriented and strategically significant. This visit, the eleventh astatine the enactment level successful arsenic galore years, shows the communal value the countries accord to each other.
A continuity
Since MbZ’s past sojourn successful January 2024 arsenic the main impermanent astatine the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, 2 different high-profile engagements person reinforced bilateral momentum. At the Prime Minister’s idiosyncratic invitation, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed, and the Crown Prince of Dubai, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, visited India, yielding factual outcomes crossed sectors specified arsenic defence, atomic cooperation, energy, acquisition and economical engagement. The progressive information of the adjacent procreation of Emirati enactment lends a distinctive extent and continuity to the India-UAE partnership.
Following the signing of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement successful 2017, the narration has evolved successful a genuinely broad manner. MbZ’s latest sojourn produced a wide-ranging acceptable of outcomes, including a defence practice framework, a associated abstraction initiative, a people of $200 cardinal successful bilateral trade, collaboration successful artificial intelligence, information embassies, infrastructure investment, concern connected tiny atomic reactors, a supercomputing clump successful India, and a 10-year LNG proviso agreement.
The signing of a Letter of Intent towards a Strategic Defence Partnership is timely, fixed the evolving defence architecture successful parts of West Asia. Equally important was the unequivocal associated condemnation of coercion successful each its forms, and the accent that nary state should supply a harmless haven to those who finance, plan, oregon perpetrate specified acts.
Infrastructure investment
The UAE’s involvement successful India’s infrastructure communicative is good established. The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA)’s $1 cardinal committedness to India’s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) Master Fund successful 2017 was an aboriginal signal. Since then, UAE entities person emerged arsenic cardinal semipermanent important investors.
Ongoing discussions connected the UAE’s information successful processing the Special Investment Region successful Dholera, Gujarat bespeak this commitment. The envisaged concern covers strategical assets including an planetary airport, aviator grooming facilities, attraction and repair infrastructure, a greenfield port, a astute municipality township, obstruction connectivity and vigor infrastructure.
Investor involvement successful Dholera has been reinforced by palmy roadshows successful the UAE, wherever sovereign wealthiness funds and organization investors person shown a beardown appetite. Dholera’s entreaty lies successful its presumption arsenic a government-backed astute city, with precocious connectivity and utilities, anchor investments by large corporates, absorption connected high-technology sectors specified arsenic semiconductors and electrical vehicles, and its imaginable arsenic a aboriginal hub wrong the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor. The announcement that DP World and First Abu Dhabi Bank volition found offices successful GIFT City further enhances its illustration arsenic an emerging planetary fiscal centre. These offices volition service arsenic captious bridges connecting Indian companies with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Middle East and Northern Africa markets. ADIA already operates from GIFT City, reinforcing the UAE’s semipermanent fiscal engagement with India. Buoyed by the beardown show of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which has led to a 37% emergence successful bilateral commercialized since FY 2022–23, leaders person acceptable an ambitious people of $200 cardinal successful commercialized by 2032. India’s exports to the UAE grew by 28% past twelvemonth to $36 billion, portion imports roseate by 41% to $64 billion, making the people realistic. This enlargement could partially offset export pressures arising from unilateral tariff measures elsewhere. Beyond commercialized volumes, CEPA has importantly deepened spot betwixt businesses and investors connected some sides.
Initiatives specified arsenic Bharat Mart astatine Jebel Ali volition supply a large boost to India’s MSME exporters. The projected Bharat-Africa Setu aims to link Indian exporters with markets crossed Africa by leveraging DP World’s logistics footprint. The Virtual Trade Corridor announced during Sheikh Khaled’s sojourn is adjacent to becoming operational and could besides enactment broader connectivity initiatives specified arsenic the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor.
Building connected the MoU connected civilian atomic practice signed successful September 2024, the determination to research partnerships successful precocious atomic technologies, including ample reactors, tiny modular reactors, operations and safety, is peculiarly significant. With the UAE generating astir a 4th of its energy from atomic power, complementarities are evident, particularly successful the discourse of India’s cleanable vigor ambition.
The overview
The value of MbZ’s sojourn extends beyond announced deliverables. Recent intra-GCC governmental dynamics could person wider determination implications. India, with heavy stakes crossed West Asia, indispensable proceed to cautiously recalibrate its relationships, guided by strategical autonomy and multi-alignment, portion avoiding entanglement successful determination rivalries. The India-UAE partnership, anchored successful spot and shared interests, offers a unchangeable pillar amid determination uncertainty.
Sunjay Sudhir is Distinguished Fellow, JSW School of Public Policy astatine the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA), and a erstwhile Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and the Maldives
