UAE, India boosting ties in energy, defense sectors
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The United Arab Emirates and India discuss the boosting of their bilateral ties in numerous areas, including energy, defense, and food.
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United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a leaders lunch at the G20 summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, November 15, 2022 (AP)
In a significant diplomatic move, United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday to discuss the strengthening of bilateral ties, energy partnerships, defense exchanges, and other key areas of collaboration.
The meeting between the heads of state took place in Abu Dhabi.
President Al Nahyan expressed his pleasure in welcoming Prime Minister Modi to Abu Dhabi and took to Twitter to share the agenda of their discussions. The leaders engaged in fruitful discussions regarding the progress of their bilateral ties, the shared interest in promoting sustainable global growth, and strategies to further boost collaboration between the two nations and their people.
The leaders jointly issued a statement, as reported by the Indian Foreign Ministry, highlighting their commitment to bolstering energy partnerships.
The leaders agreed to enhance collaboration in the oil, gas, and renewable energy sectors. Notably, both sides expressed their intent to explore cooperation in emerging fields, such as Green Hydrogen, solar energy, and grid connectivity.
Defense cooperation between the UAE and India also took center stage during the meeting. The joint statement emphasized the leaders' agreement to intensify defense exchanges, sharing of experiences, training, and capacity building. This move signifies a deepening commitment to strengthening their defense ties and fostering mutual security.
Additionally, the importance of reliable food supply chains was emphasized during the discussions. Recognizing the significance of food security, both leaders reiterated their determination to promote the reliability and resilience of food supply chains.
Modi and bin Zayed also pledged to expand food and agriculture trade, including the implementation of food corridor projects in India.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs had previously announced that the premier would visit Abu Dhabi on July 15 for negotiations with the country's President. The meeting aimed to discuss bilateral cooperation across various domains, including defense, energy, healthcare, and food security.
"Defense cooperation" between the two states has long been a thing, as an investigation by Intelligence Online found that a number of Western defense industry client countries are indirectly fueling Ukraine with weapons.
Even though India is dedicated to its non-aligned status, the government agreed to use its stocks of several thousand Milan anti-tank missile systems of various versions.
The UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar have also supplied hundreds of Mistral anti-aircraft systems that were also delivered to Ukraine.
According to Intelligence Online, the route these supplies take is now well-established. The missiles are not sent directly to Ukraine, which few countries have the logistical capacity to do, but are sent back to the manufacturer in France where markings in Arabic, Korean, or Sanskrit are removed in case they fall into Russian hands. French missile manufacturer MBDA is particularly attentive to this detail.
In South Korea's case, which has publicly expressed its support for Ukraine, most of the countries secretly supplying weapons want to maintain their image of neutrality. India, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE are not applying US and European sanctions against Russia.
Moreover, the Indian economy has been benefitting from cheaper Russian oil because of the sanctions. Last month, Russia became India's largest oil supplier and significantly contributed to the country's energy security. The UAE has also become a haven for Russian oligarchs, much to the chagrin of the US.
