Abu Dhabi hosts UAE-India Strategic Dialogue

The second session of the UAE-India Strategic Dialogue was held today in Abu Dhabi, headed by Dr. Anwar Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. M. J. Akbar, Indian Minister of State for External Affairs, led the Indian delegation to the meeting.

Those in the meeting presented several topics of common interest and discussed means of consolidating strategic co-operation and developing bilateral relations to achieve the common interests of both sides. They also exchanged views on several regional and international issues.

Many senior officials participated in the dialogue, including top executives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Ministry of Defence, as well as representatives of other major government institutions. India was represented by a delegation of senior officials from the Indian government and representatives of Indian companies, along with the attendance of the ambassadors of both countries.

Dr. Gargash praised the strategic relations between the UAE and India, while highlighting the desire and interest of the UAE’s leadership to consolidate and develop these relations, reflecting the ambitions and directives of the supreme command of both countries. He also called for the expansion, improvement and widening of their joint co-operation, on the level of bilateral and multilateral relations, to consolidate and develop them in various areas to serve their common goals and interests, and those of their peoples.

Gargash noted the importance of the UAE’s strategic relations with India, which is corroborated by the high-level visits between the leadership of both countries, most notably the visit of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, to India last January, where he participated as a guest of honour in the Republic Day of India's celebrations and met with Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, and witnessed the signing of agreements and Memorandums of Understanding between both countries, marking a new era of bilateral relations that are currently witnessing noticeable developments on various levels.

Both sides highlighted the importance of strategic bilateral dialogue in enhancing the co-ordination and co-operation of the two countries, expressing their satisfaction at the strategic co-operation between Abu Dhabi and New Delhi, in line with the ambitious vision of the leadership of both countries.