Abu Dhabi: A day after arriving in UAE on a two-day trip, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit zero-carbon Masdar City, hold talks with UAE-based businessmen and address Indian diaspora.
During his visit, Modi is expected to promote India as an attractive investment destination and will hold talks with Indian and Emirati businessmen in UAE.
Apart from discussions with the Crown Prince, who is also the Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Modi will also hold talks with Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum today.
In the evening, the Indian Prime Minister will address thousands of Indian expats at Dubai Cricket Stadium in Dubai Sports City.
The first Indian PM to visit the UAE in over three decades, Modi was accorded the Guard of Honour and received by Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan his arrival at Abu Dhabi airport yesterday.
He then met UAE dignitaries, took a trip to the Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and visited the ICAD Residential City top, which is a labour camp housing workers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.
At the end of day 1 in UAE, HH Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, MD of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, hosted a high level dinner for PM Modi.
The issue of ISIS threat is likely to be part of talks between the PM and UAE leadership which considers the terror group as a major threat.
Given that late Indira Gandhi was the last Indian Prime Minister to have visited UAE in 1981, Modi's trip is being seen as an opportunity to boost India-UAE ties in key areas of trade and security.
Marvelling at the UAE's spectacular achievements, Modi described the Gulf nation as a paradise built up in a desert with unmatched vision and remarkable skill. "I have always thought, how this paradise could come up in a desert? What vision! What remarkable skill!" Modi said of the country.
Earlier, ahead of Modi's trip, the UAE's Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said the Prime Minister's maiden visit to the UAE provides a strategic opportunity to draw a new blueprint for taking bilateral ties forward, including in areas of counter-terrorism, defence and economy.
(With Agency Inputs)
