Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Saturday, according to the Ministry of External Affairs. The leaders reviewed progress in bilateral cooperation across technology, trade, investment, energy and defence during the talks held on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit. The Ministry of External Affairs statement noted that both sides reiterated the importance of the India-UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership built on strong political, cultural, commercial, energy and people-to-people relations. Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Prime Minister of India discuss enhancing bilateral relations as part of ongoing high-level engagements this year.
The two leaders acknowledged the important role that L’Imad, as the UAE’s newest sovereign investment fund chaired by the Crown Prince, could play in further deepening the India-UAE partnership for mutual benefit, the Ministry of External Affairs reported. Discussions covered opportunities to enhance cooperation in strategic and emerging areas including defence, space, nuclear energy, technology and innovation. A significant $11.5 billion investment in an integrated greenfield aluminium project in Odisha was highlighted, with the project expected to position the state as a global hub for aluminium manufacturing.
India is hosting the 18th BRICS Summit at Bharat Mandapam with the UAE participating as a full member since January 2024 alongside Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and Saudi Arabia, according to the Ministry of External Affairs. The UAE’s inclusion in BRICS supports its efforts to expand economic and trade partnerships while adding a global hub for trade, investment and logistics to the grouping. The Crown Prince arrived in New Delhi on Friday and was received by Minister of State Kirti Vardhan Singh at the airport, the ministry said.
Bilateral trade between India and the UAE reached $101.25 billion in fiscal year 2025-26, crossing the $100 billion mark for the second consecutive year, according to the UAE-India CEPA Council. The two countries have set a target to double it to $200 billion by 2032 with non-oil trade now accounting for nearly two-thirds of the total. High-level visits have provided continuous impetus to ties since Prime Minister Modi’s trip to the UAE in 2015 that established the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi data places the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement signed in 2022 as a key driver of this growth.
The meeting builds on earlier engagements in 2026 including Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the UAE in May and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s trip to India in January, according to the Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi. Previous outcomes included agreements on nuclear energy cooperation between the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited and Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation as well as long-term LNG supply deals. These pacts cover operation and maintenance of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant, sourcing of nuclear goods and services from India and one million metric tonnes per annum of LNG from ADNOC. A strategic framework agreement with Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve Limited was also extended to support energy security.
L’Imad, established to deepen Abu Dhabi’s economic foundations, oversees investments across public and private markets with a focus on generating sustainable value and building domestic capability, the fund’s assessment found. Such steps align with broader efforts to advance sustainable development models across priority sectors while expanding investment and trade partnerships. The leaders welcomed an MoU on health and medicine cooperation between the two countries’ health ministries that will promote joint efforts in research, digital health and pharmaceuticals.
