Modi and MBZ fast-track defence and energy cooperation during 3-hr Delhi visit

NEW  new delhi:  republic of india and the United arabian Emirates on mon unveiled plans for finalising a strategical defence partnership and a 10-year agreement for the supply of 0.5 million tonnes of LNG per year, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed setting a target for doubling bilateral trade to $200 billion over the next six years.Modi personally received the UAE leader, popularly known as MBZ, on his arrival in New Delhi with a hug, and they travelled in the same vehicle to the Prime Minister’s residence – reflecting the importance attached by India to relations with the West Asian state, home to almost 4.5 million Indians and a key energy supplier. Though the visit lasted only about three hours, Modi and MBZ reviewed bilateral collaboration in a wide range of areas and identified innovation, space and civil nuclear energy, including small modular reactors (SMRs), as sectors for future cooperation. They also directed their teams to interlink national payment platforms to enable efficient and cost-effective cross-border payments, according to a joint statement.The two sides signed a letter of intent to work towards a “strategic defence partnership framework agreement”, which will expand joint work in defence industrial collaboration, defence innovation, training, doctrines, special operations, interoperability, cyber-security and counter-terrorism. Foreign secretary Vikram Misri said the move wasn’t a response to security-related developments in West Asia and would not lead to India’s involvement in conflicts in that region. Pointing to existing defence cooperation between the two sides, including joint exercises and high-level consultations, Misri said the proposed agreement will expand joint work in a number of areas.“We plan to look at defence industrial cooperation, partnerships in advanced technology, as well as expanding linkages in training, education, perhaps training between the special forces of the two countries,” he said.“I would characterise it as a natural evolution from the already considerable defence cooperation between the two countries, and not necessarily a response to any specific event that may have taken place in the region…”Both sides highlighted the importance of strategic autonomy and described defence and security cooperation as a “core pillar” of their comprehensive strategic partnership, while condemning all forms of terrorism, including cross-border terror, and agreed to continue collaborating at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to counter terror financing and strengthen anti-money laundering efforts.Among the five agreements unveiled by the two sides was a pact between Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company Gas (ADNOC Gas) for the purchase of 0.5 million tonnes per annum of LNG over 10 years starting from 2028.In light of India’s enactment of the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) law, the two sides will explore partnerships in advanced nuclear technologies, including the development of large nuclear reactors and small modular reactors, as well as cooperation in nuclear power plant operations and nuclear safety, the joint statement said.Modi and MBZ welcomed the “robust growth” in trade and economic cooperation since the two sides concluded the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in 2022 and the growth of two-way trade to $100 billion during 2024-25. “Buoyed by the enthusiasm of the business communities on both sides, they decided to double bilateral trade to target $200 billion by 2032,” the joint statement said.The UAE is India’s fourth-largest source of oil and second-largest supplier of LNG and LPG, and petroleum products accounted for $35.10 billion, or 41.4% of total two-way trade during 2021-22. The UAE is India’s third-largest trade partner and second-largest export destination, with exports worth more than $36.63 billion in 2024-25. The UAE’s total exports during this period exceeded $63.4 billion.The two sides also concluded a letter of intent on investment cooperation, involving the Gujarat government and the UAE’s investment ministry, for developing Dholera special investment region, which envisages development of strategic infrastructure such as an international airport, a pilot training school, a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility, a greenfield port, a smart urban township, and energy infrastructure.The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) and the UAE Space Agency signed a letter of intent for a joint initiative on space industry development and commercial collaboration, including launch complexes and an accelerator for space startups, while India’s Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority and commerce ministry and the UAE ministry of climate change signed an MoU on food safety and technical requirements to encourage the export of rice, food and agricultural products from India.Modi highlighted the success of the first NIIF Infrastructure Fund and invited the UAE’s sovereign wealth funds to participate in the second such fund, scheduled for launch in 2026. The two leaders decided to strengthen collaboration in technology and innovation, especially in artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging technologies. Besides collaborating on setting up a supercomputing cluster in India, they agreed to work together on establishing data centres there.The two leaders also directed their teams to explore the possibility of establishing “digital embassies” under mutually recognised sovereignty arrangements. Officials said these facilities will enable the storage of sovereign data in each other’s territories.Modi and MBZ also reaffirmed their commitment to the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor (IMEC) initiative, and exchanged views on regional and global issues. “They underlined their shared interest in regional peace, security and stability,” the joint statement said.The UAE leader travelled to India against the backdrop of his country’s tensions with Saudi Arabia over the situation in Yemen, where the dispute between the two key West Asian players emerged into the open last year when UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) fighters pushed Saudi-backed forces aligned with the globally-recognised Yemeni government out of several provinces.In late December, Saudi Arabia struck what it said was an Emirati shipment of weapons and equipment meant for the STC in Mukalla port and backed an offensive that saw the STC collapse and the UAE withdraw after nearly a decade as the main force on the ground in Yemen.