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Sheikh Mohammed is welcomed by Modi in New Delhi.

UAE-India ties 'set for major growth'

ABU DHABI, February 11, 2016

The UAE and India now have a solid platform from which to elevate their relationship to the next level, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE's Foreign Minister, has said in an article.

The comments, in the Hindustan Times, were made on the occasion of the official visit to India by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

"The Indian Constitution set out to encapsulate the hopes, aspirations and ideals of the people following independence in 1947. It focuses on the principles of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity. The UAE, in its Constitution of 1971 and through the words and deeds of our founding father, the late Sheikh Zayed, was also founded on progressive principles, placing peace, prosperity, stability, tolerance and unity at the heart of our relations with other nations and cultures," he was quoted saying in the article by a Wam report.

When Sheikh Mohamed meets Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the two partners will reflect on shared values while considering the rich past and vast potential of this deep strategic relationship, he said in the article.

Mumbai once served as the UAE’s primary gateway to India, a three-day boat trip across the Arabian Sea and a springboard for learning, medical treatment and opportunity to the East. In many ways, it was the UAE’s window to the world. This stretch of water was the focus of our partnership, driving trade of textiles, food and gems, not to mention cultural and linguistic exchanges. Pearling, a key driver of our economy before the discovery of oil, was dependent on India’s access to international markets.

Today, the UAE has emerged as hub connecting the Indian Ocean region to other parts of the world thanks to the government’s commitment to creating a leading business, industrial and transportation hub, driving regional connectivity and opportunity, he said.

While some of those traditional goods still make up part of our powerful trade relationship, the fact that it is today worth in excess of $59 billion per year demonstrates that the UAE-India economic ties continues to grow in step with the development of our two nations, Sheikh Abdullah said.

Supported by a range of dynamic economic initiatives driven by the Modi government, which have paved the way for the country’s future growth, Emirati investment in India is now valued at almost $10 billion. This visit is expected to help further increase in investment and overall trade figures once again. "Our mutual ambitions for our bilateral partnership are truly strategic," he said.

"And although India is already the UAE’s largest trading partner, and we are India’s third-largest, we have an ambitious five-year, 60 percent bilateral trade growth target, which demonstrates the mutual confidence each country places on the other’s future and our shared commitment to elevate our partnership to new heights," he said.

This growth will be driven by areas as energy, aerospace, technology and infrastructure, he said.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Mohamed was welcomed at ceremony today at the Presidential Palace in New Delhi by India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior officials.

He also visited the memorial site of Mahatma Gandhi, who lead India's peaceful struggle for independence and planted a tree at the site and watered a tree that the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan had planted on a visit to India.

Sheikh Mohammed wrote in the guestbook: "The world is in much need today of the principles and values that Gandhi lived by. These values are based on justice, peace, equality and renunciation of violence. It is such values and principles that brought about the unity and development of the Indian nation, and they are the same values that we in the United Arab Emirates live by. They were sowed in our hearts and minds by a great man whose name is Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding father of the UAE."




Tags: UAE | India | growth |

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