India–United Arab Emirates relations

India–United Arab Emirates relations

India	United Arab Emirates
Diplomatic mission
Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi	Embassy of the United Arab Emirates, New Delhi
Envoy
Ambassador Sunjay Sudhir	Ambassador Ahmed Al-Banna

India–United Arab Emirates relations refers to the bilateral relations that exist between the Republic of India and the United Arab Emirates. Indians also make up the largest minority ethnic group in the UAE, making up roughly 38% of UAE's total residents. India is UAE's largest exports destination & trading partner with bilateral trade turnover of US$ 68.4 billion during the calendar year 2021. UAE's exports to India stood at US$ 43.04 billion while India's exports to UAE stood at US$ 25.4 billion. In 2022 India & UAE signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with an aim of taking bilateral trade to US$ 100 billion within 5 years.

Country comparison

	India	United Arab Emirates
Emblem
Population	1,401,309,721 (2022 estimate)	10,078,023 (2022 estimate)
Area	3,287,263 km2 (1,269,219 sq mi)	83,600 km2 (32,300 sq mi)
Population density	464/km2 (1,202/sq. mi.)	118/km2 (306/sq mi)
Capital	New Delhi	Abu Dhabi
Largest city	Mumbai – 12,691,836 (20,748,395 Metro)	Dubai – 3,331,420 (~4,000,000 Metro)
Government	Federal parliamentary constitutional republic	Federal elective constitutional monarchy
Current Leader	President Ram Nath Kovind Prime Minister Narendra Modi	President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan Prime Minister Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Official languages	Hindi, English	Arabic
Main religions	79.8% Hinduism, 14.2% Islam, 2.3% Christianity, 1.7% Sikhism, 0.7% Buddhism, 0.4% Jainism, 0.23% Unaffiliated, 0.65% others	76% Islam, 13% Christianity, 7% Hinduism, 2% Buddhism, 1% Other, 1% None
Ethnic groups	75% Indo-Aryan, 19% Dravidian, 5%Austroasiatic, Sino-Tibetan, Tai-Kadai and others	11.6% Emirati Arab, 59.4% South Asian (38.2% Indian, 27.4% Pakistani, 12.5% Bangladeshi), 7.4% Egyptian, 6.1% Filipino, 12.8% Others
Immigration	12,470 Emiratis in India	3,420,000 Indians in the UAE
GDP (nominal)	US$3.150 trillion ($2,191 per capita) (2022)	US$402 billion ($41,476 per capita) (2022)

History

Early years

Since 3000 B.C, relations between India and the seven emirates which now make up the United Arab Emirates were traditionally close. The UAE and India had enjoyed close and friendly ties based on historic and cultural ties. People-to-people contacts and barter trade for clothes and spices from India in exchange for dates and pearls from the region have existed for centuries. After the creation of the Federation in 1971, India-UAE relations flourished. Today UAE and India share political, economical, and cultural links. There are over a million Indians in the United Arab Emirates, being by far the largest migrant group in the country.^[1]

21st century

Prime Minister Narendra Modi being received by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Abu Dhabi in March 2013. On 16 August 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi began a two-day visit to the UAE, the first state visit by an Indian Prime Minister to the country in 34 years. In 2018, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between India and the UAE on Technical Cooperation in the Rail Sector. It provided a platform for Indian Railways to interact and share their latest developments and knowledge in the railway sector. On 18 August 2018, Modi described Sheikh Mohammed's humanitarian support for those affected by the Kerala floods that year as "[reflecting] the special ties between governments and people of India and UAE". On 6 August 2019, the UAE backed the decision of the Indian government to pursue passage of the 2019 Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, with the UAE's Ambassador to India stating: "We expect that the changes would improve social justice and security and confidence of the people in the local governance and will encourage further stability and peace."

In August, 2021, UAE and India signed an agreement under which faculty members from Indian universities will spend six to 10 months every year for undertaking research and teaching social sciences in Abu Dhabi. This agreement was aimed at deepening the academic and cultural ties between the two nations.

Economic Relations

The UAE is India's top trading partner in the entire West Asia and North Africa region. According to journalist Ravi S. Jha, Indian exports to the UAE account for 6% of India's global exports. In 2008–09, India emerged as the largest trade partner of the UAE with bilateral trade between the two countries exceeding $44.5 billion. In 2018–19, India-UAE bilateral trade grew by over 20% and India's exports to UAE grew by 7% whereas the UAE's exports to India surged by 37% to reach US$29.78 billion.

An underwater rail tunnel linking the UAE with the western coast of India was proposed in 2018. The proposed tunnel would be supported by pontoons and be nearly 2000 kilometres in length.

Security Relations

Since 2014, India has worked with UAE on various counter-terrorism issues. In December 2020, Indian authorities in coordination with UAE had foiled a Pakistani ISI backed-terrorist attack in Delhi. The arrested terrorists consisted of 2 Khalistani and 3 Hizbul Mujahideen members. The head of the cell was arrested in UAE and deported to India. On 4 March 2018, the Indian Coast Guard and Emirati special forces collaborated in a successful operation, requested by Emirati Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and approved by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to intercept a yacht carrying Latifa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum.