Is the visit of the United Arab Emirates Crown Prince to India intended to strengthen bilateral relations with India?

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s visit to Mumbai and Delhi is aimed at further strengthening the strong ties between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and opening avenues for partnership in new and developing areas, news agency PTI reported, quoting the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), which announced the visit.

“At the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan will pay an official visit to India on September 9 and 10,” the Ministry of External Affairs said on Saturday, according to reports.

An official Emirati delegation is expected to review the trade deal this week amid concerns expressed by India over a surge in precious metals imports from the United Arab Emirates, Reuters reported, citing people briefed on the development on Sunday (8 September).

India is one of the Gulf nation’s largest trading partners, with bilateral trade of nearly $85 billion in 2022-23, according to official data cited in the agency’s report. Indian nationals form the largest community in the UAE, with nearly 3.5 million people working in key sectors essential to the country’s economy, according to the report.

According to the World Migration Report 2024, India-UAE migration is the fourth largest migration corridor in the world. The report also highlighted that all Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries continued to see high percentages of migrant workers from India, Egypt, Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Kenya.

These workers typically work in construction, hospitality, security, domestic and retail sectors. In the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar, migrants made up 88%, almost 73% and 77% of the country’s population, respectively, according to the report.

The UAE is among the top four investors in India in the form of foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2022-23. The two countries have been supporting each other by forming the India-UAE-France Tripartite Agreement (UFI) in February 2023, and the UAE joined the SCO as a dialogue partner in May 2023 and later joined the BRICS national partnership with India’s support, according to the report.

“India and the UAE share historically close and friendly ties. In recent years, the comprehensive strategic partnership between India and the UAE has deepened across a wide range of areas, including politics, trade, investment, connectivity, energy, technology, education and culture,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement, the news agency reported.

Following Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the UAE in August 2015, relations between the countries were upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership. The two countries signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in February 2022 and a Local Currency Settlement System (LCS) in July 2023 to promote the use of the Indian rupee and AED in cross-border transactions, according to the report.