India and UAE to Enhance Defence and Coast Guard Collaboration

On Tuesday, India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) agreed to strengthen their defence and Coast Guard collaboration. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan discussed enhancing bilateral relations in key sectors such as trade, technology, and connectivity.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, the UAE’s deputy prime minister and defence minister, is on his inaugural official visit to India as the crown prince. His delegation includes numerous ministers and prominent business leaders, and the crown prince is also set to visit Mumbai for business engagements.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Crown Prince of Dubai and deputy PM of UAE Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in New Delhi on Tuesday. (Photo from X)

Dubai, a prominent emirate in the UAE, has played a “key role in advancing the India-UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” and Sheikh Hamdan’s “special visit reaffirms our deep-rooted friendship and paves the way for even stronger collaboration in the future”, Modi shared in a social media post following his meeting with the crown prince.

Modi and Sheikh Hamdan spoke about Dubai’s contribution to enhancing India-UAE relations in areas such as defence, trade, technology, space, connectivity, and people-to-people exchanges, according to external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on social media.

Sheikh Hamdan shared on social media about his conversation with Modi “reaffirmed the strength of UAE-India ties which is built on trust, shaped by history, and driven by a shared vision to create a future full of opportunity, innovation and lasting prosperity”.

The Crown Prince held extensive discussions with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, during which both sides agreed to enhance defence cooperation in line with the growing ties in trade and business. They also resolved to strengthen and formalise collaboration between the Coast Guard forces of the two nations through a memorandum of understanding (MoU), according to a statement from the Defence Ministry.

Singh shared on social media that he had a “fruitful discussion” with Sheikh Hamdan. “For India, the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with the UAE is of immense priority. In the coming years, we are eager to work closely in areas such as defence cooperation, co-production and co-development projects, innovation and technology,” he said.

The two leaders highlighted training exchanges as a crucial area of collaboration that would foster mutual understanding of each other’s defence ecosystems and strengthen defence relations, according to the readout.

“They were convinced that close collaboration between the defence industries should be an integral part of the bilateral cooperation,” The readout stated that the two leaders highlighted the importance of enhancing collaboration in the defence industry and explored opportunities in defence manufacturing.

Singh and Sheikh Hamdan expressed their support for the India-UAE Defence Partnership Forum, recognizing its potential to foster strategic joint ventures and collaborative production initiatives. “They also agreed to focus on complementarities for the two countries in the Make-in-India and Make-in-Emirates initiatives,” the readout said.

India and the UAE signed a Memorandum of Understanding on defence cooperation in 2003, followed by another MoU focused on defence industry collaboration in 2017. Since then, bilateral defence ties have seen consistent growth, marked by regular high-level engagements between the service chiefs. Warships from both nations frequently make port calls, and an annual defence dialogue is held to discuss matters related to security and defence cooperation.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar also held a meeting with Sheikh Hamdan. “Value his positive sentiments for our wide-ranging cooperation and vibrant ties,” Jaishankar shared on social media.

During Sheikh Hamdan’s visit, Dubai Chambers engaged with 200 business leaders at the Dubai-India Business Forum in Mumbai, exploring new trade and investment opportunities.

In 2023, non-oil trade between India and the UAE reached $54.2 billion, with Dubai-India trade accounting for $45.4 billion. Over the past five years, Dubai’s economic relations with India have surged, with investments in India now totaling $4.68 billion.

In 2024, 16,623 Indian companies joined the Dubai Chamber of Commerce, bringing the total number of Indian companies to over 70,000. Additionally, Dubai welcomed 3.14 million visitors from South Asia, with India contributing the largest share.

(This Article was originally published by Hindustan Times)