The year 2025 marks a decade of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's transformative engagement with the United Arab Emirates, solidifying bilateral ties as one of India's most strategic global partnerships in the 21st century. The UAE is now India's third-largest trading partner, with collaboration growing across diverse sectors, including defence, education, sustainability, culture and technology. The evolving nature of this relationship was underscored by the UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation, Reem Al-Hashimy, who recently visited New Delhi as part of an official delegation led by the UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed AI Nahyan. The delegation was in India for the fourth Strategic Dialogue and the 15th Joint Commission meeting between the two nations.
In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Delhi, Al-Hashimy discussed the strong foundation of India-UAE relations and the vast potential for further growth. She also spoke of the deep-rooted people-to-people connections that have been integral to strengthening the partnership, reflecting on her own family's ties to India. Her father, a former footballer, received medical treatment in India, and her mother remembers enjoying shopping in Mumbai. The doctors who attend to her three sons are also from India. Al-Hashimy emphasised that such personal connections have played a significant role in fostering closer bilateral ties. In her view, the India-UAE partnership has never been stronger or more promising.
Edited excerpts:
Q/This is your fourth trip to India this year (2024), this time with Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed AI Nahyan, deputy prime minister and foreign minister of the UAE. Obviously, India is a very important partner for you. As these frequent trips show, there must be something brewing in bilateral ties.
This story is from the January 05, 2025 edition of THE WEEK India.
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This story is from the January 05, 2025 edition of THE WEEK India.
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