PM MODI TO VISIT UAE

DUBAI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit the UAE later this week which authorities and business leaders say signifies the special importance India attaches to its ties with the oil-rich nation and will help in furthering cooperation in diplomatic, economic and security issues.

Modi will be in the UAE on February 10 and 11 and will address the sixth World Government Summit in Dubai.

This will be Modi's second visit to the UAE. He first visited the country in August 2015.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi's second visit to UAE is an indication of the special importance we attach to the India- UAE relationship," India's Ambassador to the UAE Navdeep Singh Suri said.

According to him, the visit builds in the momentum that has developed since India hosted Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed as chief guest on Republic Day in 2017.

Besides bilateral engagements, Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to address members of the Indian community at the Dubai Opera House.

"During the year, we have seen major UAE investments into India, a significant increase in defence and security cooperation, a transformation in our energy ties from a buyer seller relationship to a strategic partnership.

"For the community, the first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi will be great news," Suri said.

Echoing Suri s sentiments, the UAE ambassador to India Ahmed Al-banna said the visit "tells us the direction that India and the UAE have in mind and also the characteristics of our respective leaderships."

"The leadership has put us on a challenging and interesting track where the relationship is very important, on many sectors, and our leaders are pushing to rewrite future plans for both nations," Al-banna said.

While Ambassador Suri highlighted the trade and investment component of this rapidly-evolving relationship, Ambassador Al-banna chose to emphasise on the connectivity aspect of it.

"There are 1,076 flights a week between India and the UAE, which is the largest operation of its kind. More than 50 per cent of Indians, who travel outside India to different destinations, such as Europe or America, use Dubai and Abu Dhabi as their transit hub," he said.

It is obvious that both sides are banking on prime minister's visit to go over and above the 17 bilateral agreements signed in January 2016, and 14 agreements in February 2017.

With an eye on India, some leading Gulf businesses with Indians at the helm see this as realisation of long-held dreams.

This will be his second visit