During the visit, Sheikh Abdullah will hold bilateral talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and also call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the External Affairs Ministry said.
India and the UAE enjoy warm, close and multi-faceted relations. (Representational Image: iStock)
Amid the growing tensions in the Gulf, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan will pay an official visit to India from 7-9 July, it was announced here on Thursday.
He will be accompanied by a senior-level delegation.
During the visit, Sheikh Abdullah will hold bilateral talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and also call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the External Affairs Ministry said.
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India and the UAE enjoy warm, close and multi-faceted relations underpinned by historic cultural, religious and economic linkages which stand elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
The UAE is India’s third-largest trade partner and fourth largest energy supplier. The Gulf country is also the first nation to participate in India’s ‘Strategic Petroleum Reserves’ programme. A 3.3 million-strong Indian community, the largest in the Gulf region, has made the UAE its second home and is contributing to its development.
As the chair of the OIC, the UAE invited India as the ‘Guest of Honour’ at the 46th Council of Foreign Ministers meeting of OIC in Abu Dhabi in March 2019. The then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj represented India at the meeting.
The visit assumes significance coming as it does amid mounting tensions in the Gulf, home to a huge Indian diaspora. The UAE has called for a de-escalation of tensions and urged world powers to help secure maritime traffic and energy supplies in the Gulf of Oman following the attacks last month on two tankers in the key shipping channel.
Sheikh Abdullah was in Moscow last week and held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on ways to de-escalate tensions between the US and Iran.
Tensions have been rising between Iran and the US after Tehran shot down a US drone over the Strait of Hormuz last month.
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