India, UAE sign five agreements

India and the UAE on Saturday signed five agreements, including in the areas of energy and transportation, following delegation-level talks headed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Commander of the UAE Armed Forces Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan here.

Two MoUs were signed on cooperation in the fields of manpower and transportation, it is learnt.

A separate MoU was signed between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Jammu & Kashmir government.

An agreement was also signed between ONGC and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) on offshore oil concessions.

During the delegation-level talks, the issues of security, investment and people-to-people ties figured.

While the UAE is one of the largest suppliers of crude oil to India, it is also the 10th largest investor in India in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI) having invested an estimated $8 billion.

As of 2016-17, India-UAE trade stood at around $52 billion, making India the largest trading partner of the UAE, while the Gulf nation is the fourth largest trading partner of India.

On Sunday, Modi will meet members of the Indian community here during the course of which he will lay the foundation stone of the first Indian temple in Abu Dhabi via video linking.

Following Saturday's agreement signing ceremony, members of the temple committee met both Modi and the Crown Prince and presented literature related to the religious project.

After laying the foundation stone on Sunday, Modi will travel to Dubai where he will deliver the keynote address at the Sixth World Government Summit, in which India is the guest of honour country this year.

Modi arrived here on Saturday evening on the second leg of his three-nation tour to West Asia and the Gulf.

He was personally received by the Crown Prince at the airport here and was accorded a ceremonial welcome.

This is Modi's second visit to the UAE, home to over three million expatriate Indians, after his visit in 2015, which was the first by an Indian Prime Minister in 34 years.

Earlier on Saturday, he visited Palestine in what was the first ever prime ministerial visit from India there.

After completing his engagements in Dubai on Sunday, Modi will leave for Oman on the third and last leg of his tour.

--IANS

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