ABU DHABI, UAE / MENA Newswire / — UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan welcomed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Abu Dhabi on Friday at the start of an official visit focused on energy cooperation, trade, investment and regional issues. The reception included the national anthems of both countries and a guard of honour, while a formation of military aircraft escorted Modi’s plane after it entered UAE airspace, according to official information released in Abu Dhabi.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs said before the trip that the two leaders were expected to exchange views on bilateral ties, with particular emphasis on energy cooperation, as well as regional and international issues of mutual interest. The ministry said the visit would also examine ways to advance the India-UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and deepen trade and investment links. Modi’s stop in the UAE was scheduled as the opening leg of a five nation tour that also includes the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Italy.
The visit comes amid sustained political and commercial engagement between the two countries. The Ministry of External Affairs has described the UAE as India’s third largest trade partner and its seventh largest source of cumulative investment over the past 25 years, while saying more than 4.5 million Indians live in the Emirates. Sheikh Mohamed paid an official visit to India in January, and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan traveled to India in February for the AI Impact Summit.
Energy, trade and diaspora in focus
During Sheikh Mohamed’s January visit to New Delhi, the two sides said the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership had strengthened over the past decade and put bilateral trade at $100 billion in the 2024-25 fiscal year. They also set a target of doubling that figure to $200 billion by 2032. The January meetings followed the 2022 entry into force of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which both governments have repeatedly cited as a key driver of broader economic engagement and stronger commercial flows.
On Modi’s previous official UAE visit in February 2024, the two governments announced a Bilateral Investment Treaty, an intergovernmental framework agreement linked to the India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor, cooperation on digital infrastructure, and agreements to connect payment platforms and card systems. The two sides also highlighted long term LNG supply arrangements signed by ADNOC Gas with Indian Oil Corporation and GAIL, reflecting the central role of energy in the relationship and its expansion into newer sectors.
Broader partnership shapes the visit
The latest visit also follows a March telephone conversation between Modi and Sheikh Mohamed focused on the situation in West Asia. Indian official readouts said the two leaders discussed attacks on the UAE and agreed on the importance of safe and free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, a route central to Gulf energy exports. That earlier exchange placed regional stability alongside energy security as an established part of the bilateral agenda, even as trade and investment ties continue to widen.
Friday’s visit kept the immediate focus on the ceremonial welcome in Abu Dhabi and the leaders’ scheduled discussions, rather than an early public rollout of new outcomes. Even so, the meeting adds to a steady run of top level contacts that have pushed India-UAE relations beyond traditional oil trade into infrastructure, payments, advanced technology and education. For both governments, the official visit reinforces a relationship defined by regular leadership engagement, large scale commerce and a substantial Indian community living and working across the UAE.