Jaishankar hails India-UAE relationship at India Global Forum, calls it “ambitious”

In his address at India Global Forum in United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called the relationship between India and UAE “ambitious” and said the ties are not limited really by its bilateral possibilities and can be felt at the global level in future.

“It is in many ways a very ambitious relationship because it’s not limited really by its bilateral possibilities. I’m very confident that as we get deeper into the relationship, it will also make itself felt at the global level,” Jaishankar said.

The Minister further hailed the ties between the two nations and reaffirmed that India and UAE are two countries that’ve known each other for a long time and would want to use this relationship today in a changing world.

During his address, the EAM also underscored the trade ties between India and UAE and added that UAE is today India’s 3rd largest trade partner and is also India’s 2nd largest export market.

More Indian citizens live in UAE than in any other country abroad. So whether we are talking people, or whether we are talking business, UAE has particular salience in our perspectives, Jaishankar said.

Ranking the India-UAE relationship quite high, Jaishankar highlighted how the ties between both sides happen to have discussions on space, education, artificial intelligence, health and startups.

“The old, traditional energy trade investments continue, but a new agenda is also coming into being,” said the EAM at India Global Forum and panel discussion on India-UAE on Monday.

Notably, India’s exports to UAE between April-September 2022 were about USD 16 billion which was an increase of 24 per cent year to year while India’s imports increased 38 per cent to reach USD 28.4 billion in the same time period.

Both sides have also had discussions on other areas of cooperation including energy, healthcare, defence, space, climate change, skills, fin-tech and startups in the past. (Always First)