H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation chaired the 13th meeting of the “UAE-India Joint Committee,” which was held through video conference…reports Asian Lite News
Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of India, chaired the Indian side.
Sheikh Abdullah extended condolences to the Government and people of India for the unfortunate loss of lives in the tragic Air India Express plane crash.
“On behalf of the UAE Government and people, I would also like to express the deepest solidarity with the grieved families of the victims who passed away because of the recent flooding and COVID-19 infections in India, wishing all those infected a speedy recovery. May our two friendly nations remain prosperous, safe, and healthy,” he added.
“The efforts undertaken by both sides in ensuring this meeting took place in light of the current global health situation affirms the deep bonds of friendship that exist between our two countries leadership and people, as well as both sides’ keenness to enhance mutual cooperation and promote bilateral relations in various sectors of common interest.”
Sheikh Abdullah underlined the strong ties between the two countries.
“The UAE-India’s strategic relations have once again proven their superiority to face the outbreak of “COVID-19″ pandemic and its economic implications. The past months showed exceptional cooperation between the two sides in all priority sectors, notably civil aviation, food security, energy, and health. Indeed, this cooperation is an example to follow between partners at the regional and global levels.
In this context, I would like to commend the exceptional flights that have been organized to secure the safe return of the citizens of the two countries, in addition to the continued smooth flow of food commodities and medical supplies between the two sides. I would like to also commend the fruitful cooperation between the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and the Indian side in the field of securing energy supplies,” he stated.
Sheikh Abudullah pointed out that thanks to the wise vision of its leadership and the constructive cooperation with its partners, especially the Republic of India, the UAE has managed to accomplish many remarkable achievements to combat “COVID-19” pandemic.
He said the UAE has managed to conduct one of the largest numbers of tests globally, it provided humanitarian assistance to more than 108 countries, with more than a million working in the health sector around the world. Most recently, the UAE has started the clinical trial phase of one of the potential vaccines to prevent the virus.
He also indicated that the UAE-India joint efforts have resulted in significant progress in the economic relations between the two sides. It resulted in a steady increase in the total bilateral trade volume over the past years. In particular, the bilateral total trade value has increased from around USD 50 billion between 2017-2018 to about USD 60 billion dollars between 2018-2019, at an annual rate of 20%.
“Indeed, this constitutes to be a great incentive to achieve more growth in trade flows and economic cooperation in priority areas,” he noted.
Sheikh Abdullah highlight the importance of the ‘UAE-India High Level Task Force on Investments’. He called, in this context, both sides to further strengthen cooperation through this platform to increase the volume of mutual investments in the sectors of food security, healthcare, education, pharmaceutical industry, and technology; to study opportunities for investing in third countries, and to discuss cooperation in fields that attract investments like civil aviation, tourism, and international cooperation.
He referred to discussions on promoting UAE-India economic relations, saying that they go hand in hand with developing civil aviation relations between the two countries given that this sector constitutes the main artery for commercial, investment, tourism and cultural cooperation between the public and private sectors on both sides.
“Hence, I urge the two countries’ civil aviation authorities to strengthen coordination to return the air movements, to discuss ways to overcome the challenges that stand in the way of achieving the optimal level of air transport relations between the two countries, and to consider this within the broader framework of bilateral relations in various areas of common interest.”
Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar congratulated Sheikh Abdullah for the two historic milestones achieved by the UAE recently: the successful launch of the ”Hope Probe” to the Mars and the successful operation of Unit 1 of Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant.
He said India is looking forward to participating in the Dubai Expo 2020, while Sheikh Abdullah wished special participation by India in the international event which will be hosted by the UAE host next year.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed and the Minister of External Affairs of India also discussed a number of regional and international issues of common concern, including Libya and Iran, and the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.
Jaishankar reiterated his country’s welcome to the peace treaty between the UAE and the State of Israel, stressing that both countries are major strategic partners of India.
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