S Jaishankar to visit UAE from August 31 to Sept 2 to chair meet

|HT|

Union external affairs minister S Jaishankar will visit the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from August 31 to September 2 to co-chair a meeting of the bilateral joint commission and the strategic dialogue, which will allow the two sides to carry out a comprehensive review of relations.

During his visit, Jaishankar and his Emirati counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan will co-chair the 14th meeting of the India-UAE joint commission and the third strategic dialogue.

“These meetings will provide an opportunity to both the ministers to review the entire spectrum of comprehensive strategic partnership between India and UAE and regional and global developments,” the external affairs ministry said in a statement on Monday.

Both countries are committed to move forward in their partnership in diverse areas, including trade, investment, conventional and renewable energy, food security, health, skill development, education, culture, defence, space, consular issues and people-to-people ties, the ministry said.

Cooperation in these areas was also discussed by officials on both sides during meetings of sub-committees of the bilateral joint commission held during August 23-24.

The UAE, which is home to around 3.5 million Indian expatriates, is one of India’s key strategic partners in West Asia. Trilateral cooperation between India and the UAE, and other partners has grown following the signing of the Abraham Accords by Israel and the formation of I2U2 – the grouping comprising India, Israel, the UAE and the United States.

Jaishankar will also meet other dignitaries while in the UAE. There have been regular exchanges of high-level visits and other interactions between India and the UAE this year.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Abu Dhabi on June 28 and met UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Both leaders also held a virtual summit on February 18, during which the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) was signed and a vision statement was adopted.

Both leaders also participated in the virtual I2U2 Summit on July 14. The grouping unveiled initiatives focused on food security and clean energy during the summit, including a $2-billion programme to develop food parks across India and a $330-million hybrid renewable energy project in Gujarat.

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