UAE crown prince to visit India on its Republic Day

DUBAI: Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the armed forces, will be the chief guest on the occasion of the Indian Republic Day to be held on 26th January.

The first "strategic dialogue" between the UAE and India was held which was co-chaired by Minister of Foreign Affairs of UAE Dr Anwar Mohammad Gargash and Indian Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar. In the meeting, the volume of trade, investment and strengthening of bilateral cooperation especially in the fields of defense, Information technology and space technology was discussed.

A big delegation will accompany UAE Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed on his 3-day visit beginning on 24th of January till 26th. A 200-member UAE Air force contingent will also be marching at the Indian Republic day parade. Some sections of Indian media recently reported that India has politely turned down United Arab Emirates request to display its para-dropping skills during the Republic Day parade citing security reasons. It is expected that cooperation between the two countries in the fields of tourism, healthcare, renewable energy, education and nuclear power will also be promoted.

According to an Indian government official, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed in his three days visit will meet Prime Minister Narendra Singh Modi, Indian President Pranab Mukherjee and Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari.

It is stated that 5 MoUs on agricultural, maritime, transport, ski-training and small business investment projects are also expected to be signed between the two countries.

Indian Prime Minister Narender Modi visited UAE in 2015 while Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, inaugurated the DP World facility in the Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai during his last visit to India in Feb 2016.