New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held talks with his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Tuesday and discussed cooperation in the areas of energy, food security, trade and defence, besides exchanging views on various regional hotspots. The meeting was also attended by UAE MOS for International Cooperation, Reem Al Hashimy and Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra.
"Just concluded comprehensive discussions with FM HH @ABZayed of UAE this afternoon. Appreciated the progress in our bilateral relationship, especially in trade, investment, consular matters, education and food security," Jaishankar tweeted. "Exchanged views on the global situation and various regional hotspots. The rich conversation reflected the substance and closeness of our partnership," he said.
Jaishankar and Sheikh Abdullah, who is on a two-day visit to India accompanied by a high-level delegation, reviewed the progress in bilateral relations across different domains, since the 14th Joint Commission meeting held by them in September 2022. The two leaders appreciated the progress in the bilateral relations, especially in trade, investment, consular matters, education and food security, a statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
Both ministers noted that bilateral trade has shown appreciable growth under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which came into force on May 1, 2022, the statement said. India's exports to the UAE between April and September 2022 were about USD 16 billion, which was an increase of 24 per cent year-on-year while India's imports increased 38 per cent to reach USD 28.4 billion in the same period.
The MEA said that on food security cooperation under I2U2 (India, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States), a delegation led by the CEO of ADQ visited India in October 2022 to take discussions forward with different stakeholders. IIT Delhi has held meetings with its Abu Dhabi partner, ADEK for establishing the IIT Delhi campus in Abu Dhabi. The meetings of the Joint Committee on Consular Affairs and the joint working group on manpower were held in October and November 2022.
Both sides have also taken forward their discussions on other areas of cooperation, including energy, healthcare, defence space, climate change, skills, fin-tech and startups. CIM and ADIA Chairman held a successful meeting of the High-Level Task Force on Investments in October 2022 in which the entire range of trade and investment cooperation was discussed. Both Ministers also exchanged views on the global situation and various regional hotspots as well as the cooperation between the two countries in UN Security Council.
Both sides have also taken forward their discussions on other areas of cooperation, including energy, healthcare, defence, space, climate change, skills, fin-tech and startups, the MEA said. CIM Group and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority chairman held a successful meeting of the high-level task force on investments in October 2022 in which the entire range of trade and investment cooperation was discussed, it said. Both ministers also exchanged views on the global situation and various regional hotspots as well as the cooperation between the two countries in the UN Security Council, the MEA said.
