India, UAE come closer
Prime Minister Narendra Modi being received by UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan upon his arrival in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday
Abu Dhabi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said he had an excellent meeting with the UAE's President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during which they reviewed the strategic partnership, discussed new areas of cooperation and witnessed the signing of several key agreements, including a bilateral investment treaty.
In a special and warm gesture, Modi was received at the airport by President Mohamed bin Zayed. The two leaders hugged each other. He was later given a guard of honour. "Had an excellent meeting with my brother HH @MohamedBinZayed. India-UAE friendship is growing stronger and stronger, greatly benefitting the people of our nations," Modi tweeted.
The two leaders held one-on-one and delegation-level talks soon after Modi landed here. They reviewed the bilateral partnership and discussed new areas of cooperation. They welcomed the deepening of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership across sectors, including trade and investment, digital infrastructure, fintech, energy, infrastructure, culture and people-to-people ties.
"I thank you for this grand welcome of me and my team. As you said, I feel that whenever I have come here, I have always felt that I have come to my home and family," Prime Minister Modi said in his opening remarks at the bilateral meeting with the UAE President.
The two leaders witnessed the exchange of eight agreements including a Bilateral Investment Treaty, MoU on cooperation in the field of electrical interconnection and trade and an Intergovernmental Framework Agreement between India and UAE on the India-Middle East Economic Corridor.
The Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) will be a key enabler for further promoting investments in both countries.
India has signed both a Bilateral Investment Treaty and a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with UAE, the statement said. The Treaty is expected to improve the confidence of the investors, especially large investors, resulting in an increase in Foreign Investments and Overseas Direct Investment (ODI) opportunities and this may have a positive impact on employment generation.