Modi Hosts UAE President, $200B Trade Target, LNG Deal

• India and UAE target USD 200 billion in trade by 2032, expanding ties in defence, energy, space, and nuclear sectors
• Agreements include LNG supply, AI collaboration, and space infrastructure development
• Talks covered food safety, agricultural exports, a "data embassy," and combating terrorism

Recently, high-level talks between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) set an ambitious target of USD 200 billion in annual trade by the year 2032.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan not only discussed the tripartite partnership in the defence sector, but also upcoming talks on energy, space, and civil nuclear technologies.

Modi greeted Al Nahyan with a hug at the Delhi airport and the two leaders then went together to the Prime Minister's residence for an open discussion. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri characterized the visit as short but very productive, pointing out that it occurred during a time of increasing tension in the Middle East and the impact of tariff policies on global trade.

“A letter of intent was signed between the two sides to work towards concluding a framework agreement for a strategic defence partnership between India and the UAE”, Misri added.

The two heads of state have taken joint steps towards a moratorium on the use of advanced nuclear technology in power generation and nuclear power plant operation, including the use of large and small modular reactors.

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They also concluded a long-term agreement that specified the yearly supply of 0.5 million metric tons of LNG to India, subsequently making the UAE the second largest LNG supplier to India after Qatar.

Artificial Intelligence was underlined as a major point of collaboration and the beginning of a joint venture to build a supercomputing cluster in India was one of its most significant aspects. Besides that, the UAE indicated its interest in investing in the raising of India's data centre capabilities.

Furthermore, the two nations talked about enhancing their military cooperation and even penned a letter of intent for creating space infrastructure which would include satellite facilities and joint missions.

They also signed additional agreements on food safety, agricultural exports and the possibility of establishing a data embassy. Regional issues, including Yemen, Gaza, and Iran, were also part of the dialogues, along with the common determination to fight cross-border terrorism.