RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3700
TO BE ANSWERED ON 25.07.2019
INDIA-UAE RELATIONS
3700. SHRI SANJAY SINGH:
Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:
(a) the current status of India-UAE relations;
(b) whether the meeting with Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed would result in a change in the relations between the two nations;
(c) if so, the details thereof; and
(d) the details of plans for action in the international sphere if any?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
[SHRI V. MURALEEDHARAN]
(a) to (c) India-UAE bilateral relations are deep rooted in age-old trade and cultural links and nourished by people to people contacts. In the last five years, with intensive high-level engagements, the relationship has been elevated to a ‘Comprehensive
Strategic Partnership’. UAE is India’s third largest trading partner and fourth largest energy supplier. UAE is the first foreign country to participate in the India’s ‘Strategic Petroleum Reserves’.
His Highness Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed, Foreign Minister of the UAE paid an official visit on 7-9 July 2019 to India. During the visit he called on Prime Minister and held bilateral meeting with External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar. The visit provided
an opportunity to both sides to constructively build on the vision of the comprehensive strategic partnership and to broaden cooperation in various sectors of mutual interest.
(d) India-UAE expressed interest in South-South Cooperation in February 2016. An MOU for cooperation between India and the UAE for cooperation in developmental projects in Africa was signed in December 2018.
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