PM Modi in Abu Dhabi on July 15 to complete the India-France-UAE triad
PM Modi will be hosted by UAE ruler and President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan with India-France-UAE part of the trilateral cooperation initiative.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with top CEOs, thought leaders and influencers on July 13 in Paris even as he makes a day visit to Abu Dhabi in United Arab Emirates on his way back to India.
While the list of CEOs, leaders and influencers is on the verge of being finalized, the French Republic is ready with a royal treatment for the visiting dignitary as President Emmanuel Macron awaits the visit from his friend and close ally Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
It is understood that on his way back to India, PM Modi will make a stop-over at Abu Dhabi to meet President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to further cement bilateral ties with UAE. While returning from the US last month, PM Modi had paid a bilateral visit to Egypt as India’s strong engagement with the Middle-East took a new dimension. PM Modi met former Saudi justice minister and secretary general of Muslim World League Sheikh Mohammed bin AbdulKarim Al-Issa on Tuesday and discussed the developments in the Islamic world. Dr Al-Issa is a proponent of moderate Islam and is said to be very close to Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud.
India-France-UAE are part of the trilateral cooperation initiative, announced on September 19, 2022 in New York, with Abu Dhabi part of the strong defence cooperation bond between the three countries. It was the UAE that allowed its Airbus 330 tankers to refuel Rafale fighters in mid-air while making their way from France to India at the peak of global pandemic. Last month, India, France and UAE joined in the first ever trilateral naval exercise in the Gulf of Oman on June 7, 2023 with INS Tarkash, French ship Surcouf with helicopters, Rafale fighters and UAE Navy maritime patrol aircraft participating the exercise as part of the initiative to keep Indian Ocean secure from traditional and non-traditional threats in the maritime environment. The basic idea behind the trilateral exercise was to ensure safety of seal-lanes for commercial trade and allow freedom of navigation. France has close military and political ties with UAE and has a permanent base at Al Dhafra to ward off air and missile threat to Abu Dhabi from state and non-state actors.
{{/usCountry}}India-France-UAE are part of the trilateral cooperation initiative, announced on September 19, 2022 in New York, with Abu Dhabi part of the strong defence cooperation bond between the three countries. It was the UAE that allowed its Airbus 330 tankers to refuel Rafale fighters in mid-air while making their way from France to India at the peak of global pandemic. Last month, India, France and UAE joined in the first ever trilateral naval exercise in the Gulf of Oman on June 7, 2023 with INS Tarkash, French ship Surcouf with helicopters, Rafale fighters and UAE Navy maritime patrol aircraft participating the exercise as part of the initiative to keep Indian Ocean secure from traditional and non-traditional threats in the maritime environment. The basic idea behind the trilateral exercise was to ensure safety of seal-lanes for commercial trade and allow freedom of navigation. France has close military and political ties with UAE and has a permanent base at Al Dhafra to ward off air and missile threat to Abu Dhabi from state and non-state actors.
{{/usCountry}}While the Modi government is tight-lipped about the Abu Dhabi leg, it is understood that he will spend nearly a day in UAE on July 15 as the two countries along with US and Saudi Arabia are also planning to jointly develop rail-road network apart from taking up other major infrastructures in the Middle-East.
