India-UAE Deals: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s short visit to the United Arab Emirates turned into a busy day of deals and announcements. The two sides came out with seven important outcomes that cover energy, defence, shipping, AI, and new money coming into India. The Ministry of External Affairs said the talks were meant to build “long-term strategic and economic cooperation between India and the UAE”.
The official MEA readout also says the leaders deepened cooperation across energy, trade, investment, defence, security, infrastructure, fintech, education, culture, and people-to-people ties.
Indian Army Deploys T-12 Shotguns Against Growing Drone Threats
Energy and Defence Deals
A big part of the visit was about energy security. India’s Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited signed a strategic collaboration agreement with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. Under this, the UAE side will be able to take part in India’s strategic petroleum reserves up to 30 million barrels. The two sides also agreed to work on strategic gas reserves in India. Along with that, Indian Oil Limited and ADNOC agreed on long-term LPG supplies. The MEA said the UAE remains an important partner in India’s energy security, including crude oil, LNG, and LPG supplies.
The visit also brought a new framework for the strategic defence partnership between India and the UAE. The two countries agreed to deepen defence industrial collaboration, innovation, advanced technology, training, exercises, maritime security, cyber defence, secure communications, and information exchange. Reuters said the framework was signed as both sides look to deepen ties in a tense regional climate.
Shipping and Skills
Two more agreements focused on the sea and on people. Cochin Shipyard Limited and Drydocks World, Dubai signed an MoU to set up a ship repair cluster at Vadinar, including offshore fabrication, under India’s Maritime Development Fund Scheme. A separate tripartite MoU with the Centre of Excellence in Maritime & Shipbuilding was also signed for skill development in ship repair.
The goal is to train and employ a skilled maritime workforce. The MEA said this will help make India a hub for skilled shipbuilding and ship repair professionals. That fits neatly with the “Make in India initiative” and the “Skill India mission”.
AI Deals
The AI part of the visit was just as striking. India’s CDAC and UAE-based G42 signed a term sheet to set up an 8 Exaflop Super Compute Cluster. The MEA said this will support the India AI mission and boost high-performance computing capacity. G42 has also been linked in earlier reporting to an 8-exaflop AI supercomputing cluster for India’s AI push.
Puttaparthi Set To Host Major AMCA And Defence Manufacturing Event
$5 Billion in New Investment
The final big outcome was money. The MEA said UAE entities announced USD 5 billion in investment into India. This includes USD 3 billion from Emirates NBD into RBL Bank, USD 1 billion from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority with the National Infrastructure & Investment Fund in priority infrastructure projects, and USD 1 billion from the International Holding Company into Sammaan Capital. Reuters also reported the same package of investment commitments.
On top of all this, the leaders also welcomed the operationalisation of the Virtual Trade Corridor using MAITRI. That digital system will connect customs and port authorities on both sides. The aim is simple. Faster cargo movement, lower costs, and less waiting time at the ports.
