India, UAE deepen tech ties during MBZ visit |
Beyond the announcement of a Strategic Defence Partnership, steps to deepen tech cooperation were the key outcomes of the UAE President’s visit to New Delhi.
KASHISH PARPIANI
This week, at the invitation of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ) visited India. This was his fifth visit of the last ten years and his third official visit as President of the UAE.
While the visit was short (about three hours), it was substantive with the comprehensive set of outcomes announced by the two sides. Of which, the most significant takeaway was the signing of the Letter of Intent towards the conclusion of the India-UAE Strategic Defence Partnership. As per an official readout, this will expand defence cooperation across a number of areas, “including defence industrial collaboration, defence innovation and advanced technology, training, education and doctrine, special operations and interoperability, cyber space, counter terrorism.”
Amid US-Iran tensions, rumoured expansion of the Saudi Arabia-Pakistan defence pact, and reports of a Saudi-Emirati rift over Yemen, the elevation of defence cooperation as “a core pillar” of the India-UAE partnership is a significant development.
However, the UAE President’s visit also yielded some notable agreements that are indicative of deepening India-UAE tech cooperation.
Beyond trade
India and the UAE share a comprehensive partnership, underpinned by strong people-to-people ties (Indians form the largest ethnic community in the UAE) and cooperation at multilateral fora (including through recent minilaterals like the I2U2,