Modi to forge deeper ties

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday said he is looking forward to discussing with the leaders of the Kingdom on ways to further boost bilateral relations while expressing confidence that his visit “would further deepen our relationship across the sectors.’ PM Modi arrived in France yesterday as part of a three-nation tour with stops in UAE and Bahrain before returning to participate in the G7 summit from August 25 to 26 in Biarritz, France. 

Prime Minister Modi’s Bahrain visit, which begins tomorrow, will go down in history as the first-ever Prime Ministerial visit from India to the Kingdom. In a blog post, before embarking on the three-nation tour, Modi said he looks forward to “discussing with Prime Minister His Royal Highness Prince Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the ways to further boost our bilateral relations and share views on regional and international issues of mutual interest.”

“I would also be meeting His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and other leaders.” His Majesty the King will be hosting a banquet dinner in honour of Modi.  The Prime Minister further stressed that he would take the “opportunity to interact with the Indian diaspora.” “I will be blessed to be present at the formal beginning of the re-development of the temple of Shreenathji- the oldest in the Gulf region – in the wake of the auspicious festival of Janmashtami.”

The 200-year-old Sree Krishna temple will be renovated at a cost of $4.2 million. According to Bob Thaker, President of the Thattai Hindu Merchants Community, the three-storeyed structure is being built on a 45,000 sq feet land, and will have 80 per cent more capacity to host devotees, a media report said. Memorandum of Understandings on RuPay cards will be signed by India with both Bahrain and the UAE so that they can be used in these two countries. 

This would further boost economic engagement between the two countries with Bahrain currently having more than 3,000 Indian-owned/joint ventures.  Reports indicate that India’s bilateral trade with Bahrain has been on the rise in the last few years, reaching about US$1.3 billion in the 2018-19 period. With about 3,50,000 nationals, Indian expatriate community is also the largest in the Kingdom. 

In UAE

Prime Minister Modi will arrive in Bahrain from UAE where he will hold discussions with His Highness the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on bilateral relations and regional and international issues of mutual interest.

Modi will formally launch RuPay card in UAE to expand the network of cashless transactions abroad and will receive the ‘Order of Zayed’, the highest civilian decoration conferred by the UAE government.

The ‘Order of Zayed’ award, according to ANI, acquires special significance as it will be awarded to Modi in the birth centenary year of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding father of the UAE.  “I also look forward to jointly release the stamp to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi along with His Highness the Crown Prince,” the Prime Minister said in a blog statement before departure. 

Returns for G7

After the Bahrain visit, Prime Minister Modi will be returning to France for the G7 Summit. India has been invited as a partner country. Prime Minister will also be demonstrating JAM- JanDhan, Aadhar and Mobile in a Digital Transformation session.  The prime minister earlier said his visit to France reflects the strong strategic partnership which the two countries deeply value and share.

He will have bilateral meetings in France, including a summit interaction with President Emmanuel Macron and a meeting with Prime Minister Edouard Philippe. PM Modi will also interact with the Indian community and dedicate a memorial to the Indian victims of the two Air India crashes in France in the 1950s and 1960s.

In a statement ahead of his visit, PM Modi said: “India and France have excellent bilateral ties, which are reinforced by a shared vision to cooperate for further enhancing peace and prosperity for our two countries and the world at large.” He said the strong strategic and economic partnership is complemented by a shared perspective on major global concerns such as terrorism and climate change.

“I am confident that this visit will further promote our long-standing and valued friendship with France for mutual prosperity, peace and progress,” the prime minister said.