Syllabus: GS-II
Subject: International Relations
Topic: India’s relations with other nations
Issue: India – UAE
Context: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
India- UAE relationship:
- Climate issues:
- India and the UAE co-launched the Global Green Credit Initiative at the COP28 climate summit.
- Economic partnership: Bilateral trade grew to $85 billion in 2022-23 making UAE,
- India’s third-largest trading partner.
- India’s second-largest export destination.
- The fourth-largest overall investor in India.
- The India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
- Fintech:
- RuPay card, a key component of India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), is accepted in the UAE.
- The rupee is being accepted for transactions at Dubai’s airports.
- Both countries operationalised a rupee-dirham settlement system (Indian Oil Corporation made a rupee payment to the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company for crude oil imports)
- Energy security:
- UAE is the only nation from West Asia which has strategic oil reserves stored in India.
- Strategic ties: both countries are part of important groupings such as..
- I2U2 or the West Asian Quad (India, Israel, the United States and the UAE).
- India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC).
- Instances highlighting the good relations between India and UAE:
- In 2018, India was the ‘Guest of Honour’ country at the UAE’s annual cultural festival.
- Modi was conferred the UAE’s top civilian honour, the Order of Zayed.
- Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan (Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi) was the chief guest at the Republic Day parade in Delhi in 2017.
- The IIT Delhi Abu Dhabi campus has been established.
- The UAE opened a consulate in Hyderabad.
- Conclusion: India recognizes and values the UAE’s role in the region, the UAE is also aware of the ‘global leadership’ role that India is set to acquire.
Prelims Connect:
Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI): is a combination of open technology standards built for
(i) public interest,
(ii) enabling governance, and
(iii) a community of market players working to drive innovation, especially across public programmes.
Eg: United Payments Interface (UPI)
Aadhar Enabled Payment System etc.
Strategic oil reserves: these are stockpiles of crude oil that have already been extracted and can be readily refined into fuels like Petrol and Diesel.
Global Green Credit Initiative serves as the international platform for dialogue, collaboration, and the exchange of innovative environmental programs and instruments.
