India, UAE sign 8 pacts as PM Modi begins tour

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan held a bilateral meeting, and several Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) were exchanged in their presence in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

“Brother, firstly, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to you for your warm welcome. We have met five times in the last seven months, which is very rare. I have also got the opportunity to come here seven times… the way we have progressed in every field, there is a joint partnership between India and UAE in every field,” said PM Modi in a meeting with the UAE President.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, and Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra were among the Indian delegations present in the meeting.

Earlier, upon his arrival at the airport, PM Modi was welcomed by UAE President Al Nahyan. The two leaders shook hands and hugged each other.

“Immensely grateful to my brother, HH @MohamedBinZayed, for taking the time to receive me at Abu Dhabi airport. I look forward to a productive visit which will further strength the friendship between India and UAE,” said PM Modi in a post on X.

PM Modi also received a guard of honour.

Ahead of his departure, the prime minister took to social media platform X to post that he is looking forward to meeting with his “brother” the President of UAE with whom he shares a good rapport.