Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Good morning ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to this Press briefing on the occasion of the Prime Minister's visit to UAE. We have the pleasure to have with us Foreign Secretary Shri Vinay Kwatra. We are also joined by our Ambassador to the UAE, Ambassador Sunjay Sudhir. And also joining us on the dais is Joint Secretary in charge of Gulf countries in the Ministry of External Affairs, Shri Aseem Mahajan. With that, I invite Foreign Secretary to make his opening remarks.
Shri Vinay Kwatra, Foreign Secretary: Thank you very much, Ambassador Sunjay Sudhir, Aseem, Randhir, friends from the media, thank you so much for coming out this morning for this briefing with regard to Prime Minister's ongoing visit to the UAE. You have yourself closely followed the developments and the events yesterday. We would like to just update you on some of the significant and substantive elements of the discussions between the two leaders yesterday.
As you all know, Prime Minister arrived in Abu Dhabi yesterday in the afternoon on what is his seventh visit to this country. On his arrival, in a rare gesture, he was received by the President of the UAE, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and also accorded a ceremonial welcome at the airport. Thereafter, the leaders held detailed delegation level and one-to-one talks, which covered the entire gamut of bilateral engagement between India and the UAE, as also the significant developments regionally, as also globally. They also witnessed a transaction made using the JAYWAN card, and Prime Minister congratulated the President with regard to the launch of UAE's domestic JAYWAN card, which is another significant step in financial sector cooperation between India and the UAE, because the JAYWAN card has considerable interface with the RuPay card of Government of India.
There were 10 MoUs, Agreements that were signed. I would just take this opportunity to highlight to you some of the key aspects of each of these Agreements, because it is our assessment that these Agreements are quite significant and important in taking forward the relationship between India and UAE across the whole range of areas. The first one that was signed was MoU on cooperation in the field of electricity connection and trade. The objective of this particular MoU is to focus on strengthening our partnership in two crucial domains, one relating to energy security and two relating to energy trade. Obviously, clean energy trade is an important segment of this MoU. This would focus naturally on green Hydrogen and also on energy storage. Naturally, the collaboration that deals with investment, policy research, R&D, innovation across this entire sector of clean and green energy would also form an important segment of partnership under this MoU.
The second one, which I would like to highlight, is the Agreement on Intergovernmental Framework concerning cooperation on the India-Middle East Economic Corridor. Now, you are all aware that the IMEC, India-Middle East Economic Corridor, was launched during the G20 Summit meeting in New Delhi, and this Agreement builds collaboration and also looks at specific things that the parties would do to promote cooperation in this space. The main areas under this particular Agreement, which I have covered, are; one, relating to cooperation on logistics platforms, which is a crucial element of furthering the objectives of this particular Corridor. Two, provision of supply chain services. Now supply chain services, not just limited to one or two things, but to cover all types of general cargo, bulk containers, and liquid bulk. Now the whole… one of the aims in this is to see how quickly the IMEC, which was launched, gets operated and benefits the core objective of stronger, deeper, more extensive regional connectivity between the parties involved.
The third is the MoU between the Ministry of Investment of the UAE and the MeitY, that is the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, on cooperation on digital infrastructure projects. Now this is a Framework Agreement that focuses on investment cooperation in the field of digital infrastructures. Naturally, as a corollary of that, the focus is on developing capabilities, sharing technical knowledge, advice, skills, and expertise under this particular framework. Government agencies, as also the regulatory authorities, will also look to forge partnership under this particular digital infrastructure MoU. This would focus on some of the key areas of digital space, that includes high-power computing, digital innovation, and the platforms relating to management of data.
The fourth one was the Bilateral Investment Treaty, a very important and a significant Agreement between India and UAE that will set the basis for a stronger and more extensive and wide-ranging investment partnership, because it focuses not just on protecting the existing investments, it also advances the objective of promoting further capital flows between the two economies.
Then, there's the MoU on development of National Maritime Heritage Complex. This is National Maritime Heritage Complex at Lothal, Gujarat; and the two sides will work closely and the relevant departments will work closely to develop this project in a comprehensive fashion. Then, there is Agreement, there's a cooperation protocol actually, between the National Library & Archives of the UAE and the National Archives of India. The objective is to promote cooperation in archives management through exchange of expertise, historical information, research, and studies, etc.
Then there was an Agreement between Gujarat Maritime Board and Abu Dhabi Ports Company, which would seek to build partnership with regard to port and maritime sectors between the two signing entities, and would include port infrastructure development, development of sustainable ports, technology engagement, wherever applicable, maritime education and training, tourism collaboration, and development of, I would say, a complete system in which port cities could shape and develop and be the basis of further economic development and partnership between the two countries.
Then, there was Agreement on the interlinking of the instant payment platforms, UPI of India and AANI of the UAE, I think it is self-explanatory what it seeks to achieve, which is closer integration and cooperation between the financial platforms of the two economies. Agreement also on the interlinking domestic card, credit cards, that is RuPay of India and JAYWAN of UAE. I've already referred to it briefly in my opening remarks. There was also an MoU, and this is the last one, between RITES and the Abu Dhabi Ports Authority with regard to development of multimodal logistics parks which would economic free trade zones, rail connectivity projects, and the related infrastructure services.
These were some of the key Agreements which were finalized, signed, and exchanged yesterday, important enough to be flagged for your information. Now, these Agreements come on the foundation and the growing layers of very strong trade and investment partnership between the two countries. Bilateral trade already stands close to $85 billion, and UAE is the fourth largest investor in the Indian economy.
As part of his program, the Honorable Prime Minister also met with the first batch of students of the IIT Delhi, Abu Dhabi campus. The campus and the Institute has started its first academic program this January, and is a landmark step in collaboration in the field of education, and the facilities of this Institute would be available for the students globally. Of course, it also signifies the importance and significance of the expansion of IITs of India.
In the evening, as you all heard, the Prime Minister addressed the Indian community at the ‘Ahlan Modi’ event hosted at the Zayed Sports City Arena. More than 40,000 people attended this event, and in his address, as you would have heard, Prime Minister thanked the UAE President for his commitment to bilateral ties, for his support to the Indian community, and of course, for the granting of land for building the BAPS temple, whose inauguration we will be witnessing later this afternoon.
In terms of programs for the rest of the day, Prime Minister will be addressing the World Governments Summit in Dubai as Guest of Honour. And ahead of that, he would also be holding bilateral discussions with His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister, and Defence Minister, and the Ruler of Dubai. The two leaders are also expected to virtually inaugurate the Bharat Mart project. Prime Minister may also have some sideline meetings at the World Governments Summit, of which we will keep you briefed. Prime Minister will also, in the afternoon, return from Dubai for the inauguration of the BAPS temple, as I mentioned to you. Thereafter, he departs for his next destination. With regard to the programs later this afternoon, we would keep you briefed as the proceedings unfold. I would stop here, and if there are questions, we will happily take them. Thank you.
Sidhant: Hi, sir, Sidhant from WION. Sir, my question to you is, India-UAE relationship has been traditionally focused on energy. The Prime Minister was addressing the IIT, the first batch, so are we looking at diversification of the relationship into other fields, especially when it comes to education? And secondly, my second question is on the Framework Agreement, which has been signed on India-Middle East-Europe Corridor. What kind of conversations took place between the two leaders on this specific Corridor?
Ayushi: Sir this is Ayushi Agarwal from ANI. Sir, how much was the ongoing conflict, Israel-Palestine conflict, discussed between the two leaders and also its impact on the I2U2? Second, PM Modi, in his address yesterday, mentioned about that UPI services will begin in UAE soon. So if you can tell us more about that, when can we expect that to happen?
Meghna: Sir Meghna from DD News. Sir, was the situation in the Red Sea discussed in the meeting between both the leaders? I have another question as well. Regarding the MoU, which was signed when President Nahyan was in Gujarat for the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, an MoU was signed in terms of food park projects. Was there any discussion on that or any areas that have been earmarked for that?
Brijmohan: Sir, main Brijmohan Singh Raghuvanshi hoon, main Sadhana Samuh aur TV Asia ke behalf pe ye prashna puchna chah raha hoon. Jaisa ki kal hum logon ne dekha sir, na ki sirf bhartiya samudaay ke log the, yahan par UAE ke bhi tamaam aise, jo khaas taur pe jo yahan ke citizens the woh bhi kal Modi ji ko sun rahe the. Aur ek badi, ek ghatnakram hua jo ki positive raha, do din purv Qatar mai jo saat navy ke jo officers the jinko maut ki saja sunai gayi thi, unko aadarniya pradhanmantri ji ke aur bilateral relations ki jo baat kar rahe hain, uske tahat unko chhod diya gaya. Toh ye mana jaye ki sir aane wale samay mein Bharat ke rishtey na ki sirf Islamic deshon ke alawa anya deshon ke sath bhi isi tarah se honge, ki koi kabhi aisi ghatna agar kabhi hoti hai, jismai hamare bhartiya nagrikon ki koi sthithi kharab ho sakti hai, toh usmai aap logon ke sahyog se, videsh matralaya ki taraf se is tarah ke prayas aage bhi kiye jayenge.
[Question in Hindi: Approximate translation] Sir, I am Brijmohan Singh Raghuvanshi, I am asking this question on behalf of Sadhana group and TV Asia. As we saw yesterday, not only the Indian community but also those, especially the citizens of UAE, were listening to Mr. Modi yesterday. And another significant incident occurred which was positive; two days ago, in Qatar, the seven navy officers, who had been sentenced to death, were released, following the efforts from honorable Prime Minister and due to our bilateral relations. So, can it be said that in the coming times, India's relations, not only with Islamic countries but also with other countries, will be in such manner that if ever such an incident occurs where the situation of our Indian citizens may deteriorate; then such efforts will continue to be made with your support, with the support of Ministry of External Affairs?
Shri Vinay Kwatra, Foreign Secretary: Thank you very much. Some of the questions in the room are kind of interlinked with each other, so we may, sort of, go to them interchangeably. Sidhant, to your question with regard to whether there is the signing… and meeting of the Prime Minister with the IIT students, does that signify diversification of our bilateral cooperation? I think if you look at the trajectory, if you look at the spread, if you look at the intensity of India-UAE cooperation in the last 10 years, and I would make a point of correction here when you said that India-UAE partnership is focused on energy; I think if you look at the specifics of it, if you look at the evidence of it, if you look at what the two countries and the two leaders have particularly done in the partnership, you will find that this is perhaps one of the most comprehensive partnership that India has with any of the countries. You can take any segment of economic endeavor and you will find there is an ongoing cooperation between India and UAE in that field. So I am not very sure if it would be correct to confine it to begin with itself in the energy sector. I think to begin with itself, it has a very wide base. Yes, the launch of the IIT Delhi, Abu Dhabi campus does signify an entry into a very important area of education, education per se, and also what education does to people-to-people connectivity, what it also does to the entire sector of cooperation which has a tangential link to the innovation sector. I just listed out to you ten Agreements, that clearly tell you that the continuing leadership-driven impetus to this partnership has expanded it to pretty much all areas of economic activity that the States engage in, that our societies engage in. We already started with a very strong base, but I think everybody would recognize that that base has not only widened, it has deepened, and also there are further layers of stronger and deeper cooperation in many areas in this field.
Ayushi, to your question on when would the UPI services be launched and on the Israel-Palestine discussion, also links to Meghna's question, whether the situation in the Red Sea was discussed. As I mentioned to you in my opening remarks, the developments in our region, in this region, they have been a very important element of discussions between the two leaders, not just yesterday when they met, but even in their previous meetings. This is a region which is an important source of wider energy security all across the world, including for India. There are important stakes involved whenever there is any disturbance that takes place. So yes, the discussions did feature, the Israel-Palestine and the situation in the Red Sea did focus in the discussions between the two leaders.
As regards its impact on the I2U2, as we mentioned in our pre-departure briefing yesterday that whether it is I2U2 projects, and this of course connects me to Meghna's point on the food park, really. So whether it is I2U2 projects or it is the IMEC, and the signing of the agreement which I mentioned on IMEC is a clear testimony and evidence that the ongoing disturbance in the region with regard to conflict in Gaza and the situation in Red Sea indeed is a matter of concern and both countries and the leaders continue to monitor, supervise and exchange notes on them. But it is equally important to ensure that economic cooperation which can be pursued, taken forward, continues to stay course and maintain its momentum. And the Food Park project which predates the I2U2 actually is an important part of that continuity of our efforts to ensure that the momentum of cooperation in this area stays course and remains built.
Dekhiye jo aapka prashn tha bhartiya samuday ko le ke, jo bhartiya nagrik videshon mai duvidha ya samasya mai jab padte hain; dekhiye aap yadi pichle 10 varsh mai manniya pradhanmantri Narendra Modi ji ke karyakaal mai ek ek ghatnakram ko yadi aap vistaar mai uska vishleshan karenge toh aap payenge ki jab jab bhartiya samuday ke log videshon mai kisi bhi samasya mai pade hain, tab tab mananiya pradhanmantri ji ne, unke netritva ne, unke vyaktigat initiatives ke karan, chahe wo Covid kalkhand ki baat ho, chahe woh piche Sudan mai hua uski baat ho, jitne missions jo hamare chalain hain, jinke antargat lakhon karodon ki sankhyan mai yadi aavashyakata padi hai, toh bhartiyon ko wapis laya gaya hai, jab bhi kahin samasya hui. Ye aapko ye mananiya pradhanmantri ji ke jo bhartiya samuday ki samasyaon ko lekar jo ek samvendshilta hai, uska ek pratyaksh praman hai aapke samne. Toh ye kehna ki aage bhi… ye toh spasht hai, aage bhi kya, pichle 10 saal ke karyakaal mai dekhain toh bhartiya nagrik kahin bhi ho, bahar ho, ye kewal videsh mantralaya ka prashn nahi hai, ye whole of the government, Bharat sarkar ka ye prashn hai, jo pradhanmantri ji ke netritva mai sashakt roop se har prayas karti hai, kabhi bhi bhartiya samuday ka koi bhi vyakti kisi bhi shahar mai ho duniya mai, uski yathochit sahayata, yathasambhav jo bhi sahayata sambhav ho, woh hum puri tarah se karenge. Ye pradhanmantri ji ke hamesha nirdesh rahe hain, unka netritva raha hai, unhone swayam se aage badh ke apne netritva se dusre deshon ke netritva se baat kar ke ye sunishchit kiya hai, ki bhartiya nagrik jahan bhi kahin ho, jabh bhi kabhi samasya mai ho woh har prakar se surakshit rahain aur unki bharat wapsi jahan pe aavshyakata ho woh puri tarah se ho. Dhanyawaad.
[Answer in Hindi: Approximate translation] See, regarding your question about the Indian community and Indian citizens facing trouble or issues in foreign countries, if you analyze each incident in detail during the tenure of honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the past 10 years, you will find that whenever members of the Indian community faced any problem abroad, it was due to the leadership, personal initiatives of honourable Prime Minister, whether it was during the period of Covid pandemic or incidents like the one in Sudan, all the missions that we have carried out, under which millions of Indians have been brought back whenever there has been a need. This is a direct evidence before you of the conscientiousness of honorable Prime Minister regarding the issues faced by the Indian community. So, to say that in the coming times… it's clear that, looking at the past 10 years of his tenure, wherever Indian citizens are, in abroad, this is not just a matter of the Ministry of External Affairs, it's about the whole of the Government, the Indian government makes every effort under the leadership of the Prime Minister. Whenever any individual of the Indian community is in need in any city in the world, whatever assistance is possible, we will provide it fully. This has always been the directive of the Prime Minister, his leadership. He has personally gone ahead and ensured through his leadership, by engaging with the leadership of other countries, that wherever an Indian citizen may be, whenever they are in trouble; they remain safe in every possible way and their return to India, wherever necessary, is ensured completely. Thank you.
Siddhant: Hello, Foreign Secretary, I'm Siddhant from CNN News 18. Foreign Secretary, last time around in the month of May, if I'm not mistaken, there was an announcement made that Emaar Group will invest 500 crore in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Perhaps, the plan was to build a mega mall in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. That was a very ambitious project. I would like to know that was it discussed or perhaps any agreements related to that signed during yesterday's meeting? And also, Foreign Secretary, if you could explain a bit about Intergovernmental Agreement that was mentioned, exchanged between the two sides, related to IMEC, I'm talking about. And how will it take this IMEC project forward, if you can explain, because initially it was launched during G20, now the Intergovernmental Agreement happened yesterday. So if you can explain it or perhaps break down for us. Thank you.
Vishal: Sir main Vishal Pandey hoon Zee News se. Mera sawal hai kya aaj mandir ke udghatan mai UAE sarkar ke bhi koi pratinidhi maujood rahenge? Aur iske sath hi ek sawal ye bhi hai ki Qatar ka daura pradhanmantri Narendra Modi ka kitna mahatvapurna rehne wala hai, khas taur pe jab aath bhartiyon ki rihai hui hai?
[Question in Hindi: Approximate translation] Sir, I am Vishal Pandey from Zee News. My question is, will there be any representatives from the UAE government present at the inauguration of the temple today? Besides, another question is, how significant will Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Qatar be, especially when eight Indians have been released?
Shri Vinay Kwatra, Foreign Secretary: With regard to Emaar project, for that matter, any other investment cooperation discussion which might be going on between the relevant entities involved, I think it is best to talk about those things once they are fructified. It would not be correct to really prejudge the discussions which are going forward. I would simply like to state that there are several private sector investment projects that remain under discussion between the private sector entities of the two sides and our intention is to focus and foster a greater investment cooperation and actually investment cooperation involves capital flows from the private sector and including from the government where necessary between the two economies. The Bilateral Investment Treaty that I spoke about earlier on would essentially serve a very strong, I would say, legal foundations to ensure that the investors in each other's economy can take stronger steps, bigger steps for investment partnership.
With regard to IMEC, I mentioned to you some of the important elements what this particular agreement would do. I think I would take you back a bit when the IMEC was launched in Delhi and you would recall that one of the central thrusts of this particular agreement was on the regional connectivity, to strengthen regional connectivity between the countries involved in this India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor. As I mentioned to you, logistics platform, now logistics platform is a very extensive vertical in itself, so different elements of logistics platform. Supply chain services, I mentioned about that, now when you go for supply chain services, there is already an extensive interlinking of various supply chain services globally, India and UAE are part of that. Now this would include, as I mentioned, these are specific technical things, but since you asked, I just mentioned, these would include general cargo, bulk containers, liquid bulk, but the whole idea is that this economic corridor moves forward, strengthens regional connectivity, expands economic partnership, opens up new areas of opportunity for trade ties to grow, naturally. It also opens up new opportunities for certain trade services to grow, so when you talk of logistics, naturally logistics services just besides the logistics infrastructure would be an important element of it. All in all, a very important agreement for us to proceed on the launch which was done at the G20 Summit last year.
Vishal Qatar ki yatra ka jahan tak prashn hai, woh yatra ke prarambh se pahle aur yatra ke dauran jo bhi donon deshon ke netritva ke bich mai baat hogi, hum usko yathochit samay pe aapke samne, aapke samaksh unko prastut karenge. Lekin ye yahan kehna aavakshyak hai ki jaise ki maine prasthan se pahle jo presser hua tha kal, usmai bhi kaha tha ki Bharat-Qatar sambandh ek vyapak sambandh hain, unka swaroop vyapak hain, aur unke specifics vyapak hain. Mananiya pradhanmantri ji ne 2016 mai Qatar ki yatra ki thi uske baad rajnitik star pe hamare kai netagano ki bhi yatra Qatar mai hui hai, chahe woh urja se sambandhit prashn ho, chahe woh vyapar se sambandhit prashn ho, chahe woh nivesh se sambandhit prashn ho, bhartiya diaspora se sambandhit prashn ho, kshetriya jo bhi sthiti hai usko le ke aapas mai donon deshon ke bich mai kya sahyog ho, kya sehkarya ho, uske prashn ho; ye sabhi prashn jo Bharat-Qatar sahyog ke abhinna ang hain, spashta roop se darshate hain ki Bharat-Qatar sambandh already kafi sashakt hain aur ab pradhanmantri ki jo yatra jo aaj sham se wahan shuru hogi woh hamare sambandho ke aayam ko nayi unchai pe leke jayegi, lekin jaise ki maine kaha uski jankari hum aapko yathochit samay pe varta ke baad spasht karenge, magar pradhanmantri ji khaadi ke har desh ke sath bharat ke sambandh badhane ke vyatigat netritva lekar hum usko aage chal rahe hain, yahi hamare sambandho ki rooprekha ki nirdharit disha hain. Dhanyawaad.
[Answer in Hindi: Approximate translation] Vishal, regarding the question about the Qatar visit, the discussions between the leadership of both countries before and during the visit will be conveyed to you at the appropriate time. But it is necessary to mention here, as I had mentioned in the Press briefing before the departure, that India-Qatar relations are comprehensive and their nature is broad, and their specifics are broad. Honorable Prime Minister had visited Qatar in 2016, following which several of our leaders have also visited Qatar at the political level, whether it's related to energy, trade, investment, issues concerning the Indian diaspora, or the question on what should be the cooperation between the two countries on the regional situation. All these questions are integral aspects of India-Qatar cooperation, clearly indicating that India-Qatar relations are already quite strong, and now the Prime Minister's upcoming visit will take our relationship to new heights. However, as I mentioned, we will convey that information to you at the appropriate time after discussions. But under the Prime Minister's personal leadership towards enhancing India's relations with every country in the Gulf, we are moving forward, and this is the defined direction of our relationships. Thank you.
Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Thank you sir. Thank for your presence. Thank you ladies and gentleman for joining us. With that, we come to the end of this Press engagement. Thank you.
Shri Vinay Kwatra, Foreign Secretary: Thank you very much.