First time since Prophet Muhammad fiasco, Narendra Modi visits Gulf

INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (28) met United Arab Emirates president and ruler of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan here and conveyed his personal condolences on the demise of former president of the Gulf nation Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

It was also Modi's first visit to the Gulf since the controversy over the remarks by Nupur Sharma, a former official of his Bharatiya Janata Party, against Prophet Muhammad led to a major diplomatic backlash against India in the Muslim nations.

"In a special gesture, UAE President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, accompanied by senior members of the Royal Family, was at Abu Dhabi airport for the interaction with PM," India's ministry of external affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted.

Modi arrived here on a brief visit after attending a productive G7 Summit in Germany where he interacted with several world leaders on the margins of the summit and discussed issues aimed at furthering global well-being and prosperity.

During his meeting with Sheikh Mohamed, Modi conveyed his personal condolences on the passing away of Sheikh Khalifa, who died on May 13 at the age of 73 after prolonged illness.

This is their first interaction after the UAE leader's election as the new president of the Gulf nation last month. Modi had expressed grief over Sheikh Khalifa's death, calling him a great statesman and visionary leader under whom India-UAE relations prospered.

India had announced one day of state mourning following the demise of Sheikh Khalifa. Sheikh Khalifa was the eldest son of the UAE's founder president Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. He served as the president of the UAE and ruler of Abu Dhabi from November 3, 2004, till his death.

Indian vice president M Venkaiah Naidu visited the UAE in May and offered condolences to the country's leadership on the demise of Sheikh Khalifa.

The last visit by Modi to the UAE was in August 2019 during which he received the UAE's highest award, 'Order of Zayed' conferred upon him by the UAE president.

The UAE was India's third-largest trading partner for the year 2019-20 after China and US, according to India's external affairs ministry.

The UAE was also the third-largest export destination of India (after the US and China) with an amount of nearly $16 billion (£13 billion) for the year 2020-21.

For the UAE, India, too, was the third-largest trading partner for the year 2020 with an amount of around $27.93 billion or £23 billion (non-oil trade).

Indian expatriate community of approximately 3.4 million is the largest ethnic community in UAE constituting roughly about 35 per cent of the country's population.