India’s Narendra Modi visits UAE amid tension over withdrawal of Kashmiri autonomy

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will today begin his two-day visit to the UAE and Bahrain to shore up his country’s relationship with the two Islamic states after India revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s privileged status earlier this month.

PM Modi will launch the Rupay card–an Indian digital payment interface– in the Gulf states as part of a Memorandum of Understanding on technology and tourism signed by financial institutions in the three countries. He will also launch the renovation of the Shreenathji temple in Bahrain’s capital Manama.

The UAE is India’s third largest trade partner–trade in 2018-19 stood at $60 billion–and fourth largest supplier of crude oil. 3.3 million Indians work in the UAE. Mutual interests for the UAE and India lie in cyber space, defence, civil aviation, transport and agriculture.

New Delhi’s economic priorities in the medium term lie in diversifying international trade away from China and developing a sustainable domestic investment environment.

At a time when India’s economy is slowing to 5.7% growth rate simultaneous with slow global economic growth, PM Modi is likely to build way for long-term relations with the countries using investment ties in transport infrastructure development.

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