[Answered] India-UAE ties are not only comprehensive but strategic. Elaborate

India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) enjoy strong bonds of friendship based on age-old cultural, religious and economic ties between the two nations. India-UAE together have built a considerable degree of mutual trust that has enabled them to take their relationship to greater heights. UAE is India’s third-largest trading partner and is also a key supplier of crude oil to India. India is its second-largest trading partner.

India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have cooperated in following sectors:

• Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA): The Free Trade Agreement is expected to provide both the nations a greater flexibility and opportunity to leverage each other’s strengths.
• Strategic Partnerships: India, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and the United States have decided to launch a new quadrilateral economic forum. It builds on ongoing cooperation between the U.S., Israel and the UAE after the Abraham Accords and India.
• Energy Cooperation: The UAE is one of India’s key energy providers and remains committed to meeting India’s growing energy demand. The UAE is the first international partner to invest by way of crude oil in India’s Strategic Petroleum Reserves Program. The countries are also collaborating in the renewable energy sector as seen by mutual participation in the International Solar alliance.
• Covid Management: Both sides had agreed on an Air Bubble Arrangement in 2020 during the pandemic which has enabled the movement of people between two countries despite the challenges posed by COVID-19.
• Indian Diaspora: UAE hosts a large Indian community which numbers close to 3.5 million. The nation has been a consistent provider of jobs to Indian people.
• The two countries are jointly committed to fighting extremism and terrorism. Both UAE and India have joint maritime exercises like Desert Eagle to maintain peace and security in the region.
• Both the countries have also collaborated in space with ISRO launching UAE’s first nano-satellite, Nayif-1.

The UAE today is India’s closest partner in the Arab world. Both nations should come together to further engage with each other based on mutual trust and confidence. Good relations with UAE are a sine qua non for enhancing India’s Soft power in the Middle-east region.