PM Modi, UAE counterpart to hold virtual meet
Categories: Politics news DAILY NEWS
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the UAE counterpart are expected to hold a virtual meeting in the coming week with key outcoming being the signing of the much-awaited free trade pact. Both sides are exploring Friday(18th) or Saturday(19th) of next week as possible days for the meeting, even as a formal confirmation is still awaited. The draft for the FTA or the comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) was agreed in December while the negotiations started in October. Last week in response to a question, India's trade minister Piyush Goyal said, "with UAE we are at an advance stage and we hope to make some announcements very quickly on the UAE Free trade Agreement". UAE has stood as India's third largest trade partner for last 8 years. Bilateral trade in 1985 was $180 million (non-oil), while in the Financial year 2020-2021 the amount reached to above $43 billion dollars. Total foreign trade between 2 countries is about $60 billion. Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and PM Modi have held a number of conversations in the past. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was to visit UAE on 6th January when the pact was supposed to be signed but visit could not materialize due to Omicron covid crisis. During the visit he was to visit India Pavillion at the mega Dubai expo. It showcases India's culture, Yoga, Ayurveda to Space programme. On the anvil is also meet of the foreign ministers of India, UAE, Israel and United States, also known as the West Asian Quad or I2,U2. The foreign ministers could meet as early as March in UAE but depends on covid and geopolitical situation. UAE envoy said, "the newly formed west asian quad...is an offspring of the Abraham Accords and the India, UAE and Israel trilateral" and the "multilateral approach is critical to respond to threats". UAE in past few weeks have seen number of attacks by Yemen based Houthi Rebels. The attack in January killed 2 Indians at Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. It is interesting to know UAE is non-permanent member of the United Nations Security council (UNSC) along with India. The country will be president of the council in March.