Context

• Indian Prime Minister recently visited UAE fourth time, having earlier visits in August 2015, in February 2018 and again in August 2019.
• Juxtaposed against the fact that no Indian PM had visited the UAE for 34 years since the visit of Indira Gandhi in 1981, the transformation in India’s engagement with this Gulf state has been extraordinary.

Reasons behind the visit

• Not necessitated: Viewed from the perspective of traditional diplomatic protocol, the visit was not necessary.
• Demise and new rule: The reason for the latest sojourn is to offer condolences on the demise of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan and to congratulate Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan on his elevation to the position of the ruler of Abu Dhabi and President of the UAE.
• Earlier visits by officials: Vice President Venkaiah Naidu had gone to Abu Dhabi in May 2022 to offer the Government of India’s condolences to the UAE leadership.
• In an unusual gesture, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had visited the UAE embassy in New Delhi to sign the condolence book.

Beyond protocols

• No diplomatic purpose: The relationship with UAE has moved well beyond the confines of diplomatic protocols.
• Personal rapport: The warmth and personal chemistry between the Prime Minister and Sheikh Mohamed is genuine and palpable.
• UAE recognition: It has been almost three years since their last meeting in Abu Dhabi when PM Modi was bestowed the Order of Zayed, the UAE’s highest civilian award.
• Recent stop-off: The current stopover on the way back from the G7 summit in Germany was an opportunity to renew that relationship through a one-on-one meeting with Sheikh Mohamed and an engagement with key members of the royal family including the National Security Advisor and foreign minister.

Recent agreements signed

• Agreement: India and UAE has signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) on the bilateral front in a virtual summit with Sheikh Mohamed in February 2022.
• Significance: CEPA is a significant milestone that was negotiated and finalised in just 88 days.
• Trade target: It promises to increase bilateral trade from $60 billion to $ 100 billion in five years.
• Market access: It came into force on 1^st May, 2022 and has already ushered in preferential market access for 97 per cent of tariff lines accounting for 99 per cent of Indian exports to the UAE.
• Segments: CEPA is expected to help Indian exports in areas ranging from gems and jewellery and textiles to footwear and pharmaceuticals, apart from enhanced access for Indian service providers to 11 specific sectors.
• Boosting enterprise and opportunities: A high-level business delegation from the UAE visited India to identify trade and investment opportunities, brief Indian business leaders about the key features of the agreement and advise small and medium enterprises on leveraging its provisions.
• Vision statement: The two leaders also issued an ambitious, forward-looking Joint Vision Statement titled, “Advancing the India and UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership: New Frontiers, New Milestones”.
• Skill development: Dubai and India’s National Skills Development Council signed an agreement to set up a Skill India Centre in Varanasi to train local youth in logistics, port operations and allied areas so that they can pursue overseas employment.

Multilateral cooperation

• On the regional front, the rapid normalisation of ties between the UAE and Israel following the Abraham Accord of August 2020 has also opened new avenues of trilateral and multilateral cooperation.
• The Israeli tech companies are also establishing a base in Dubai and seeking to diversify niche technologies with Emirati capital and Indian scale.
• New groupings: The US has announced that President Joe Biden’s forthcoming visit to West Asia will see a virtual summit of
• About I2U2: It is a new grouping that brings together India, Israel, the US and UAE.
• The foreign ministers of the four countries had held their first virtual meeting in October 2021, articulating a focus on joint trade, technology, transport and infrastructure projects.

Significance of Gulf countries

• Description: The Gulf countries border the Persian Gulf namely Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates
• Gulf Cooperation Council: Also, these countries except Iraq are part of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
• Economic interests: The Gulf is India’s third-largest trading partner, principal source of hydrocarbons, a major source of foreign investment and home to some 8 million Indians who send in over $50 billion annually in remittances.
• Concerns: India’s image has been dented in the hearts and minds of the average Emiratis in the backdrop of the turbulence caused by the comments on Prophet Mohammed by Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal.
• Critical support: These unwanted comments reveal an utter ignorance of the crucial support that countries like the UAE have given to India in the Islamic world, for instance first by inviting our late External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj as a guest of honour at an OIC foreign ministers meeting in Abu Dhabi and later by standing with us on Jammu and Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370.

Conclusion

Visuals from the Prime Minister’s visit and his very evident personal rapport with the leadership of UAE have sent out a positive message but it will take a sustained public diplomacy effort to undo the damage caused to public sentiment at large in Gulf and strengthen ties even more.