India, UAE hold 1st strategic talks
Ahead of Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s visit as the Republic Day parade chief guest, the two countries held the first meeting of their strategic dialogue on Friday during which they finalised the Strategic Cooperation Agreement aimed at expanding bilateral cooperation to new key areas, including energy, defence and security .
During the dialogue, the two sides “agreed on a number of new initiatives to further strengthen the bilateral cooperation and on signing of fresh instruments of cooperation”, external affairs ministry said.
In a statement, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) said, “Pursuant to the decision to elevate their relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership during the exchange of the visits at the highest level between India and United Arab Emirates (UAE) in August 2015 and February 2016, the two sides held the first meeting of strategic dialogue between the two foreign offices on January 20, 2017 in New Delhi . ... The two sides were represented by strong delegations drawn from a number of relevant ministries and departments.
“During the meeting, the two sides discussed a number of issues ranging from cooperation in the areas of trade and investments to expanding the bilateral cooperation to new areas under the strategic partnership, inter alia in the areas of energy security and renewable energy, defence and security, electronics and information technology and space. The meeting provided a timely opportunity to prepare for the forthcoming state visit of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi as the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations, 2017. The two sides agreed on a number of new initiatives to further strengthen the bilateral cooperation and on signing of fresh instruments of cooperation.”
During the visit, the two sides will also explore ways to strengthen trade ties.
The two countries have been among each other’s top trading partners with a well-balanced bilateral trade of about $50 billion in 2015-16.