Dubai’s Crown Prince Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, who is also deputy prime minister and defence minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), will be in Delhi on a two-day visit beginning Tuesday.
Accompanying him is a high level business delegation, signalling the UAE’s readiness for more business following the comprehensive economic partnership signed in 2022, and a Local Currency Settlement (LCS) System in July 2023.
Crown Prince Hamdan will hold discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, followed by a meeting with his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh, and Minister of Commerce Piyush Goyal in Mumbai.
The visit is expected to focus on trade, energy, defense, and investment. These discussions come at a time when both nations are eager to expand their collaboration in renewable energy, particularly in green hydrogen projects. The UAE, which has invested heavily in clean energy, is keen to further its cooperation with India in these areas.
The Crown Prince’s visit indicates both sides are keen to explore new avenues of cooperation in light of the changing global trade dynamics following Trump’s tariffs. In this context, Crown Prince Hamdan’s meeting with Prime Minister Modi is expected to address the broader regional security issue, particularly the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Md. Muddassir Quamar, Associate Professor at the Centre for West Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, said “India and UAE are strategic partners and are working to strengthen trade and investment relations with ambitions to increase bilateral trade to $100 billion and UAE’s investment in India to $75 billion.”
“Many areas in India including energy, renewable energy, tourism, food, agriculture, food processing, and dedicated food transportation corridors are attractive areas for UAE investment. Additionally, logistics, infrastructure, IT, smart cities, and defense manufacturing are also seen as key areas for collaboration,” he added.
Defense cooperation between the two countries has also gained significant momentum. Notably, the first-ever India-UAE bilateral army exercise, “Desert Cyclone,” was held in Rajasthan in January 2024. Crown Prince Hamdan is expected to seek enhanced defense collaboration during his visit.
The Crown Prince will travel to Mumbai for the Business Summit, where he will engage with key Indian business leaders. Discussions will focus on accelerating bilateral investments in sectors such as energy, defense manufacturing, IT, infrastructure, and smart cities.
The countries have also been exploring opportunities in green energy, particularly green hydrogen, as part of their broader sustainability goals. Additionally, both countries have shown interest in nuclear energy cooperation, which is expected to play a significant role in future energy strategies.
The UAE is also focusing on sectors such as food processing, logistics, and transportation, with plans to strengthen collaboration in establishing dedicated food transportation corridors and enhancing supply chain infrastructure. Both nations are engaged in talks on developing new technological platforms like the Virtual Trade Corridor (VTC) and the Maitri Interface, designed to streamline cross-border trade through paperless transactions.
India and the UAE’s growing scientific collaboration is another highlight of the visit. Both nations recently signed a MoU on Polar Research, focusing on joint research and capacity-building initiatives in the Arctic and Antarctic regions.
The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC), a major infrastructure initiative aimed at boosting trade and connectivity between India, the UAE, and Europe, is expected to feature prominently in the discussions.
