Indian PM in UAE to open temple, deepen trade links

AFP | Dubai                                            

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi started a visit to the United Arab Emirates yesterday to inaugurate the Middle East's largest Hindu temple and boost investment and trade links.

The two governments signed deals, including a framework agreement on a major trade and transport route, at the start of Modi's two-day visit, the third in the past eight months.

His trip comes ahead of India's national elections expected in April. Modi was due to inaugurate the region's largest Hindu temple on Wednesday, a day after he addresses thousands of expatriates in a community event in UAE capital Abu Dhabi.

The visit is largely focused on galvanising the diaspora, according to experts, even though Indians in the UAE can't vote from abroad.

The UAE is home to about 3.5 million Indian nationals -- the largest expatriate community in the Gulf country.

On Tuesday, Modi met UAE president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, according to the Indian foreign ministry and local state media, their fifth meeting in eight months.

They signed several deals, including a bilateral investment treaty, building on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement signed in 2022, India's foreign ministry said.

They also signed an "intergovernmental framework agreement" on the India-Middle EastEurope Economic Corridor, a ship-to-rail transit network that will supplement existing sea and land routes.

The ministry did not elaborate on the deal which comes after an ambitious plan for a modern- day Spice Route was first announced on the sidelines of a G20 summit in New Delhi in September.

- 'Cultural bonds' -

Ties have gradually deepened since a landmark 2015 visit by Modi to the UAE, the first by an Indian prime minister in more than three decades.

The UAE is India's third largest trading partner, with a bilateral trade volume of around $85 billion between 2022 and 2023. Later on Tuesday, Modi was expected to address large crowds at the Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi, where organisers say some 60,000 Indian expatriates had registered to attend.

For Modi, "this visit will be focused on the diaspora", said Ian Hall, author of the book "Modi and the Reinvention of Indian Foreign Policy".

Before flying out to Qatar on Wednesday, Modi is due to deliver a keynote address at the World Government Summit, an annual gathering of political and business leaders in Dubai, the UAE's business hub.

But the highlight of his visit will be the inauguration of the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushott a m Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) temple in Abu Dhabi, the region's largest.

It is the first Hindu temple in the UAE capital.

"The BAPS Temple is a celebration of UAE-India friendship, deep-rooted cultural bonds and an embodiment of the UAE’s global commitment to harmony, tolerance and peaceful coexistence," India's foreign ministry said.