’Long live India-UAE friendship…’: PM at ’Ahlan Modi’ event in Abu Dhabi

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Abu Dhabi, Feb 13, 2024: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said what India and United Arab Emirates have achieved in terms of community integration, is a model for whole world. 

Amid loud cheers at the packed venue, he said now that the “historic moment” of inaugurating a Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi is here, the friendship between the two countries will live long and continue to prosper.

Overwhelmed by the affection at the #AhlanModi community programme in Abu Dhabi.https://t.co/dZJ5oPz73R

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 13, 2024

 

Incredibly honoured by the warm welcome from the Indian Community in Abu Dhabi today. The vibrancy of our diaspora never ceases to amaze me. pic.twitter.com/yqQRRoEAEu

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 13, 2024

“Today in Abu Dhabi, you have created a new history. You have come here from all corners of the UAE and different states of India. But everyone’s heart is connected. At this historic stadium, every heartbeat, every breath, every voice says ‘Long live India-UAE friendship…” said the prime minister as he spoke at the ‘Ahlan Modi’ event at the Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

Here is what he told the Indian diaspora in Abu Dhabi, which gave him a rousing welcome:

The PM earlier held a bilateral meeting with the UAE’s President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, during which they reviewed the strategic partnership, discussed new areas of cooperation and witnessed the signing of several key agreements, including a bilateral investment treaty.

In a special and warm gesture, PM Modi was received at the airport by the president, and the two leaders hugged each other. He was later given a guard of honour. “Had an excellent meeting with my brother HH @MohamedBinZayed. India-UAE friendship is growing stronger and stronger, greatly benefitting the people of our nations,” he tweeted.

The two leaders welcomed the deepening of the comprehensive strategic partnership across sectors, including trade and investment, digital infrastructure, fintech, energy, infrastructure, culture and people-to-people ties. Discussions also covered regional and global issues, the ministry of external affairs said in a statement.

“I thank you for this grand welcome of me and my team. As you said, I feel that whenever I have come here, I have always felt that I have come to my home and family,” Modi said in his opening remarks at the bilateral meeting with the UAE President. “We have met five times in the last seven months. Today, there is a mutual partnership between India and UAE in every sector,” he added.

The two leaders also witnessed the exchange of eight agreements, including a bilateral investment treaty (BIT), MoU on cooperation in the field of electrical interconnection and trade and an intergovernmental framework agreement between India and UAE on the India-Middle East Economic Corridor.

Modi will be inaugurating the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) Mandir, the first Hindu stone temple in Abu Dhabi, on Wednesday. He said the construction of the temple in Abu Dhabi would not be possible without the support from the UAE’s leadership.

This is the third visit of the prime minister to the UAE and the fifth meeting between the two leaders during the past eight months, which reflects the depth of the bilateral partnership, the MEA said on X.