Abu Dhabi — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan remain committed to combating extremism and terrorism, including cross-border terrorism, both regionally and internationally.
According to a joint statement released on Friday, the leaders also agreed to enhance their bilateral cooperation in fighting terrorist financing and extremism.
The joint statement further emphasized the importance of promoting peace, moderation, coexistence, and tolerance among all people while denouncing all forms of extremism, hate speech, discrimination, and incitement.
The leaders also stressed the importance of multilateralism and collective action to promote a just and rules-based global order.
The India-UAE relationship has witnessed tremendous progress on all fronts, with bilateral trade reaching USD 85 billion in 2022, making the UAE India’s third-largest trading partner for the year 2022-23, and India’s second-largest export destination. India is the UAE’s second-largest trading partner.
The signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) has further boosted bilateral trade.
The leaders expressed their satisfaction with the coordination between the two sides on UN Security Council matters, with both countries serving as non-permanent members of the UNSC in 2022.
Prime Minister Modi commended the UAE’s achievements during its term as an elected member of the Security Council, and the UAE reiterated its endorsement of India’s bid for permanent membership of the reformed UNSC.
The leaders exchanged a Memorandum of Understanding on finance, payments, and education, facilitating the use of local currencies for cross-border transactions, interlinking payment and messaging systems, and planning to establish the Indian Institute of Technology – Delhi in Abu Dhabi.
The leaders noted the importance of people-to-people contacts, which date back centuries, as one of the strongest and most important pillars of the historic India-UAE relationship.
The large Indian diaspora continues to play a significant role in the society and economy of the UAE, further reinforcing bilateral relations.
Prime Minister Modi thanked Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for his warm hospitality and looks forward to his participation in the G20 Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi in September 2023.
