Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince lands in Delhi for 2-day maiden India visit; bilateral ties in energy, connectivity on cards

Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrived in Delhi on Sunday on a two-day maiden visit to India to further boost bilateral ties in a range of areas, including energy and connectivity.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal received the Crown Prince at the Delhi airport following which he was accorded a ceremonial welcome, in reflection of the importance India has attached to the visit.

Taking to microblogging platform X (formerly known as Twitter), External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal posted,” A new milestone in a historic relationship. His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrived in Delhi on his first official visit to India."

"Warmly received by @CimGOI @piyushgoyal and accorded a ceremonial welcome," he added.

According to media reports, Crown Prince Al Nahyan is accompanied by several ministers from the UAE government and a business delegation.

Crown Prince Al Nahyan is scheduled to hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi tomorrow. PM Modi had invited the UAE as a special invitee for G20 during India's Presidency of the grouping.

It is important to note that after Prime Minister Modi's landmark visit to the UAE in August 2015, bilateral relations between the two countries were elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Both countries signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in February 2022 and a Local Currency Settlement (LCS) System in July 2023 to promote the use of Indian Rupee and AED (United Arab Emirates Dirham) for cross-border transactions.

The MEA said the visit of the Crown Prince will further reinforce strong ties between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and open avenues for partnership in new and emerging areas.

The two countries are among each other's top trading partners with a bilateral trade of about USD 85 billion in 2022-23, according to official data. The UAE is also among the top four investors in India in terms of foreign direct investments in 2022-23.