Ties across the sea
Tolerance and pluralism are values that India shares with the UAE
Source: THE HINDU/ YOJANA
At first glance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s UAE visit last week, might have seemed like any other
bilateral visit he has undertaken. But this visit, Mr. Modi’s seventh to the UAE since 2014 indicates the
government’s desire to signal more about the salience and prominence of the Emirates, than it has with
any of the other country in the Gulf region.
The timing may have been related to an invitation to address
the ‘World Governments Summit’ in Dubai and to inaugurate Abu Dhabi’s first Hindu temple, but the 10
bilateral agreements signed need a closer look.
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- The speed with which India and the UAE concluded the
Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in 2022 has been matched by last week’s
Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT).
- This makes the UAE not only the first country the Modi government has
signed these agreements with but also the only country that India has both a trade and an investment
agreement with.
- The UAE is now India’s third largest trading partner,
- India’s second largest export
destination, and fourth largest source of FDI.
- The inauguration of the Bharat Mart for Indian MSMEs is
also expected to strengthen trade ties.
- A second raft of agreements dealt with technological ties including
building digital infrastructure; R&D for energy security and trade focusing on green hydrogen and energy
storage, and digital cross-payments.
- Third, the Agreement for an Intergovernmental Framework on the
India-Middle East Economic Corridor paves the way for multilateral cooperation between the two
countries, that also coordinate over the I2U2 initiative with the U.S. and Israel, and, from 2024, will
cooperate within the BRICS framework, as the UAE is now a member.
- Finally, the discussions on the Israel Gaza operations and the Red Sea attacks, indicate that in a region roiled by conflict, India considers the UAE to be a stable interlocutor.
- India-UAE ties are also built on a bedrock of history and cultural engagement that includes centuries-old
maritime trade and a diaspora contributing about 18% of India’s global remittances. While India’s
technological prowess and the UAE’s positioning as a trade and industry hub bring complementarities, the
changes in their polity and societies bring possible friction points. As the UAE, a theocratic monarchy,
seeks to democratize its governance and have a more pluralistic system, such as the decision on the
temple in Abu Dhabi, it has expressed concern over the rise of majoritarian and sectarian forces in India.
- To that end, Mr. Modi’s words in Abu Dhabi, where he rejoiced in the mutual values of tolerance and
pluralism, and “shared heritage of humanity” may be the most significant bonds between the two
countries separated by the Arabian Sea.
