India, UAE ink pacts on linking digital payment platforms, trade, energy

AS PRIME Minister Narendra Modi met UAE’s President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, India and the UAE signed pacts on bilateral investment promotion, port infrastructure development, power trade, interlinking of digital payment platforms like the UPI, credit and debit cards, and an intergovernmental framework agreement on the India-Middle East Economic Corridor.

Calling MBZ his “brother” several times in his opening statement before the bilateral meeting, Modi, who reached Abu Dhabi on Tuesday afternoon, said, “Whenever I have come here, I feel like I have come home and I am with my family.”

“Immensely grateful to my brother, HH @MohamedBinZayed, for taking the time to receive me at Abu Dhabi airport,” he posted on ‘X’.

The two leaders have met five times in the last seven months, and this is Modi’s seventh visit to the UAE since assuming office. After holding one-on-one and delegation-level talks, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the two leaders reviewed the bilateral partnership and discussed new areas of cooperation.

“Had an excellent meeting with my brother HH @MohamedBinZayed. India-UAE friendship is growing stronger and stronger, greatly benefitting the people of our nations,” Modi also posted on ‘X’.

In its statement, the MEA said: “They welcomed deepening of the comprehensive strategic partnership across sectors, including trade and investment, digital infrastructure, fintech, energy, infrastructure, culture and people-to-people ties. Discussions also covered regional and global issues.”

UAE’s minister of economy writes: UAE-India CEPA promoted a favourable environment for startups to thrive in both countries

The two sides signed the Bilateral Investment Treaty which will be a “key enabler for further promoting investments in both countries,” it said. India has signed both a Bilateral Investment Treaty and a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with the UAE.

“The Bilateral Investment Treaty will have long-term impact, and the G20 countries will also see that India and UAE are moving forward on this direction,” Modi told MBZ.

The two sides also signed an intergovernmental framework agreement on the India-Middle East Economic Corridor. The MEA said this would build on previous understandings and cooperation, and foster India-UAE cooperation, furthering regional connectivity. The IMEC was announced on the sidelines of the G20 leaders’ summit in New Delhi in September 2023. Modi thanked MBZ for his support to the IMEC which, he said, would have “long-term impact”.

According to the MEA, the two sides also signed agreements on interlinking of digital payment platforms — UPI (India) and AANI (UAE). “This will facilitate seamless cross-border transactions between the two countries. This follows the MoU on interlinking payment and messaging systems signed in July last year during PM’s visit to Abu Dhabi,” it said.

They also signed a pact on interlinking domestic debit/ credit cards — RuPay (India) with JAYWAN (UAE). The MEA said this is “an important step in building financial sector cooperation… (and) will enhance the universal acceptance of RuPay across the UAE”.

The two sides also signed pacts on energy, an MoU on cooperation in the field of electrical interconnection and trade, which “opens new areas of collaboration in the field of energy, including energy security and energy trade,” the MEA said.

The leaders also discussed the strengthening of energy partnership. “They appreciated that in addition to the UAE being among the largest sources of crude and LPG, India is now entering into long-term contracts for LNG,” the MEA said