Jaishankar meets UAE’s top leadership in Abu Dhabi, next stop is Israel
Sheikh Mansour and Jaishankar discussed ways to enhance cooperation between the UAE and India across various fields
NEW DELHI: External affairs minister S Jaishankar met the top leadership of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday ahead of a visit to Israel, his first since the end of the conflict in Gaza.
Jaishankar travelled to the UAE last week to participate in the Sir Bani Yas Forum, an annual event held on December 12-14 to discuss regional and international issues, with the focus on peace, security and economic cooperation.
The external affairs ministry said that following his participation in the forum, Jaishankar would co-chair the India-UAE joint commission and strategic dialogue with foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi.
“He will thereafter pay a visit to Israel and hold bilateral consultations with his counterpart foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar,” the ministry said without giving details.
On Monday, Jaishankar met the UAE vice president, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, in Abu Dhabi. “Had a productive discussion on deepening economic and defence cooperation,” he said on social media.
Sheikh Mansour and Jaishankar discussed ways to enhance cooperation between the UAE and India across various fields in a way that “serves their shared interests and benefits both friendly countries”, UAE’s WAM news agency reported.
Jaishankar also met Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, group CEO of Mubadala Investment Company, a state-owned sovereign wealth fund, and discussed the “global geo-economic situation and the need to further strengthen relations” between India and the UAE, he said on social media.
“Also apprised him of emerging opportunities for economic cooperation,” he added.
Jaishankar is expected to arrive in Israel on Tuesday. His visit comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on the phone and “agreed to meet very soon”.
Several Israeli ministers, including finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, visited India this year. The two sides signed a bilateral investment treaty during Smotrich’s visit and finalised the terms of reference for a free trade agreement during commerce minister Piyush Goyal’s visit to Israel last month.
