President Sheikh Mohamed’s Visit: India-UAE Seal 12 Major Agreements Across Defence, Space, Energy And Trade Sectors

India and the United Arab Emirates today (19 January) announced a comprehensive set of agreements spanning defence, space, energy, and infrastructure sectors during UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan's official visit to New Delhi.

The three-hour summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi produced 12 major outcomes, including a Letter of Intent to establish a Strategic Defence Partnership Framework and an ambitious commitment to double bilateral trade to $200 billion by 2032.

The defence partnership framework covers collaboration in defence manufacturing, advanced technologies, cyber security, counter-terrorism, training, and interoperability between the two militaries.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri described the visit as "short, but extremely substantive", highlighting the strategic depth of discussions between the two leaders.

In the space sector, both nations signed a Letter of Intent between India's IN-SPACe and the UAE Space Agency for joint infrastructure development, including new launch complexes, satellite fabrication facilities, joint missions, and space training centres.

Energy security featured prominently in today's agreements, with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited and ADNOC Gas signing a 10-year LNG supply agreement for 0.5 million tonnes per annum starting in 2028.

The two sides also agreed to explore cooperation in advanced nuclear technologies, including large reactors and Small Modular Reactors, following India's enactment of the SHANTI law in 2025.

Both leaders welcomed the progress under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement signed in 2022, noting that bilateral trade has already reached $100 billion in FY2024-25.

The UAE committed to major investments in Gujarat's Dholera Special Investment Region, with plans for strategic infrastructure including an international airport, greenfield port, smart urban township, railway connectivity, and aviation training facilities.

First Abu Dhabi Bank and DP World will establish operations in Gujarat's GIFT City to strengthen financial and logistics linkages.

The two nations also agreed to collaborate on establishing a supercomputing cluster in India under the AI India Mission and explore setting up 'Digital Embassies' between the countries.

Prime Minister Modi personally received the UAE President at Delhi airport, travelling together to his residence where discussions were held in both restricted and expanded formats.

The visit marked Sheikh Mohamed's fifth trip to India in the past decade and his third official visit as President.

Both leaders directed their teams to work towards interlinking national payment platforms to enable efficient cross-border payments and connecting micro, small and medium enterprises through initiatives such as Bharat Mart, the Virtual Trade Corridor, and Bharat-Africa Setu to open new markets across West Asia, Africa, and Eurasia.

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