New Delhi, Oct 18: President A P J Abdul Kalam will arrive in United Arab Emirates today on the first leg of his three-nation tour which will also take him to Sudan and Bulgaria. The highpoint of the tour, Kalam`s first overseas visit, is a meeting with his counterpart Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nahyan in the UAE capital.
During his visit, Kalam will address an Indo-UAE partnership summit in Abu Dhabi, attend a reception by the Indian Embassy and is likely to meet the officials of the Dubai Chambers of Commerce and Industry besides visiting Gitex 2003, an international IT show here before leaving for Khartoum. The President will also interact with some 1500 students from the Indian High School, the largest school in Dubai, other schools in the Northern Emirates and some other Indian institutions.
Welcoming his visit, chairman of the Indian High School, Ram Buxani said, "It is very important for India to maintain strong and friendly ties with the UAE where close to a million Indian expatriates live." Former President of Gujarati Association Bharatbhai Shah said the Indian government had ignored the UAE despite the presence of the strong Indian community and there have been no official visits to the UAE by either the President or Prime Minister in recent years. Bureau Report