On August 31-September 2, 2022, Union Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Ministry of External Affairs Minister (EAM) visited the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for 14th India-UAE Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) and 3rd India-UAE Strategic Dialogue.
About Meetings:
The Indian Union Minister co-chaired both the meetings with Foreign Minister of UAE, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Both leaders reviewed the entire gamut of comprehensive strategic partnership between India and UAE and regional and global developments.
Key Highlights from 14th India-UAE JCM
i.Both nations reiterated their commitment to achieve the goal of 100 billion US dollars of bilateral trade in the next 5 years.
ii.They also noted the possibility of linking instant payment platforms, such as through the United Payment Interface of India.
iii.The meeting also saw the signing of following two Memorandums of Understanding (MoU)
- One MoU was signed between the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and the International Fund for Houbara Conservation for the Conservation of the Great Indian Bustard and the Lesser Florican.
- Another MoU was signed between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of UAE and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) on the establishment of the India-UAE Cultural Council Forum.
iv.Both sides emphasized the importance of promoting start-ups and entrepreneurship in different fields such as fintech, edutech, healthtech, agritech, logistics and supply chains.
- Notably, team consisting of both government and private sector representatives from India and UAE visited Kenya and Tanzania recently to identify opportunities for joint projects in the health sector
v.They reviewed the ongoing discussions between the two sides in the area of food security, including in the I2U2 framework.
- I2U2 is the formation of four nations- India, Israel, UAE, and the United States (US).
S Jaishankar visits the first Hindu temple site in Arabian Peninsula
The Indian Minister also visited a Hindu temple ‘Shri Swaminarayan Mandir’ under construction in Abu Dhabi, UAE. It is the first traditional temple in the Arabian peninsula.
- Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) Swaminarayan Sanstha, a global not-for-profit Hindu organisation, is constructing the temple, for which land was given by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, after Narendra Modi’s first visit to the UAE as Prime Minister (PM) of India in 2015.
EAM also met UAE’s Sheikh Nahyan bin Mabarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Co-existence and appreciated his efforts on the cultural front and his support for the Indian diaspora in UAE.
India-UAE Relations:
i.India-UAE Bilateral trade in FY22 was about USD 72 billion.
ii.UAE is India’s third largest trade partner and second largest export destination.
iii.UAE FDI in India currently stands at over USD 12 billion.
iv.The Indian expatriate community is the largest ethnic community in the UAE constituting about 35% of the country’s population.
v.The UAE is the third-largest export destination of India (after the US and China) with an amount of nearly USD 16 billion for the year 2020-21.
vi.For the UAE, India is the third-largest trading partner for the year 2020 with an amount of around USD 27.93 billion (non-oil trade).
Recent Related News:
i.Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved the establishment of an Interim Operational Hub, its first overseas office in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
ii.AD Ports Group, based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates(UAE), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone(SEZ) Limited for strategic joint investments in end-to-end logistics infrastructure in Tanzania.
About United Arab Emirates (UAE):
Capital– Abu Dhabi
Currency– Dirham
