SPOTLIGHT
SHIFTING SANDS
INDIA, UAE MOVE TO NEW PASTURES
BY NIVEDITA MUKHERJEE*
T
here is a lot of substance behind the optics of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi making a purchase of one
kilo of motichoor laddoo by swiping a RuPay card at
a mock Chhappan Bhog Abu Dhabi outlet set up during the
launch of the RuPay card at the Emirates Palace during his
visit to the UAE in August 2019.
The RuPay Cards which will now be accepted at 175,000
merchant acceptance locations and 5,000 ATM and cash
access locations within the UAE is business as usual now for
an India which believes in giving a tech edge to economic
diplomacy with traditional and new partners. Indeed, the
India-UAE bilateralism underpinned by a rich historical
legacy of commercial and cultural connect, has seen a steady
upswing in recent years and transformation into a dynamic
and multi-dimensional economic partnership underscored by
the signifi cant visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s to the
UAE in 2015 and in February 2018 for the World Government
Summit (WSG), reciprocated by the visit of Crown Prince of
Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to India
in February 2016 and his presence in 2017 as the Guest of
Honour for the Republic Day Celebrations in India.
Richly supplemented by successive meetings of the UAE-
India Joint Task Force on investment in Abu Dhabi in January
2018 to discuss facilitation of investment in key sectors in
UAE and India and visit of a delegation from UAE to India in
February 2018 to further promote the strong bilateral relations
between the two countries, the two countries appear headed
for one of the most defi ning partnerships in the world. There
is a renewed business confi dence instilled by the emergence
of UAE as the 10th biggest investor in India in terms of FDI
and as India’s third-largest trade partner with about USD 60
billion bilateral trade in 2018-19, growing at 11 percent. The
UAE holds steadfast as India’s highest source of remittance
infl ow with a contribution of $ 17 billion last year. India has
also started issuing fi ve-year multiple entry visas for UAE
citizens to promote trade, investment and tourism.
Going ahead, there are two imperatives which will drive
the sustained rally in India-UAE engagement. First is the
expansion of the strategic partnership through Indo-UAE
energy cooperation in boosting India’s energy security eff orts
which is gaining traction against a backdrop of growing
uncertainties in the global energy market and India’s own
growth requirements. This strategic relationship is witnessing
enhanced energy links between India and the UAE with a
pathbreaking deal which will see Abu Dhabi National Oil
Co (Adnoc) storing oil in two of its four compartments of
36 • Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 7 • Issue 9 • September 2019, Noida