Abu Dhabi, May 16: Narendra Modi and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Friday agreed to deepen the India-UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership through a series of new initiatives spanning energy security, infrastructure, advanced technology, maritime development, and investment cooperation.
According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office after the bilateral meeting in Abu Dhabi, the two leaders welcomed the signing of a Strategic Collaboration Agreement between Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company to expand the UAE’s participation in India’s Strategic Petroleum Reserves to 30 million barrels.
The two sides also agreed to jointly explore the establishment of strategic gas reserves in India, reinforcing long-term energy security cooperation amid global supply uncertainties.
Additionally, Indian Oil Corporation Limited and ADNOC entered into a long-term agreement for Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) supplies, aimed at ensuring stable fuel availability for India’s domestic energy market.
A major highlight of the visit was the announcement of $5 billion in fresh UAE investments into India. The proposed investments include $3 billion by Emirates New Development Bank into RBL Bank, $1 billion by Abu Dhabi Investment Authority into the National Infrastructure and Investment Fund, and another $1 billion by International Holding Company into Sammaan Capital.
Officials said the investments reflect the UAE’s long-term confidence in India’s economic growth trajectory and infrastructure expansion plans.
The two countries also signed a Memorandum of Understanding between Cochin Shipyard Limited and Drydocks World to establish a ship repair cluster at Vadinar in Gujarat under India’s Maritime Development Fund Scheme.
A separate tripartite agreement involving Cochin Shipyard, Drydocks World Dubai, and the Centre of Excellence in Maritime and Shipbuilding focuses on maritime workforce training and skill development, with the objective of positioning India as a global hub for shipbuilding and ship repair talent.
In the technology sector, India and the UAE concluded a term sheet for developing an 8 Exaflop supercomputing cluster through a partnership between Centre for Development of Advanced Computing and G42.
The leaders also welcomed the operationalisation of the Virtual Trade Corridor using the MAITRI (Master Application for International Trade and Regulatory Interface) digital framework, designed to integrate customs and port systems of both countries to improve trade efficiency, lower logistics costs, and reduce cargo transit time.
Both sides reviewed the full spectrum of bilateral relations and acknowledged expanding cooperation across energy, trade, defence, infrastructure, fintech, education, culture, and people-to-people engagement.
The leaders further highlighted the success of the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which has significantly boosted bilateral trade and strategic economic integration between the two countries.
