UAE and India ink 10 pacts, including IMEC, during PM Modi's ongoing visit, says Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra

Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra on Wednesday said that India and the UAE have ratified 10 agreements aimed at enhancing collaboration in critical sectors such as energy, infrastructure, investments, and archival management. These agreements, comprising memoranda of understanding and formal agreements, were formalised during the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Tuesday. Kwatra highlighted that the memorandum of understanding concerning electricity interconnection and trade will prioritise green hydrogen and energy storage, in addition to fostering cooperation to ensure energy security and facilitate trade. Kwatra said the Inter-governmental Framework Agreement concerning Cooperation for the Empowerment and Operation of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) will further regional connectivity. He underscored that this agreement’s key domains encompass cooperation on logistics platforms, a pivotal component in advancing the objectives of these corridors, and the provision of supply chain services encompassing general cargo, bulk containers, and liquid goods. One of the aims is to see how quickly the IMEC gets operated and benefits the core objective of stronger, deeper, more extensive regional connectivity between the parties involved, Kwatra said. The corridor was announced in New Delhi during the G20 summit in September. The IMEC is being seen as an alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The IMEC will connect India, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel and Europe. Kwatra said the MoU on Cooperation in Digital Infrastructure Projects will create a framework for wide-ranging cooperation, including investment cooperation, in the digital infrastructure sector and also facilitate the sharing of technical knowledge, skills and expertise. Government agencies as well as regulatory authorities will seek to forge partnerships under this MoU. This would focus on key areas of digital space that includes high power computing, digital innovation, and platforms relating to management of data, the foreign secretary said. He said the Bilateral Investment Treaty will set the basis for a stronger, wide-ranging investment partnership because it focuses, not just on protecting the existing investments, but also advances the objective of further capital flows between the two economies. The MoU on the Development of the National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) would foster engagement between the two countries aimed at supporting the Maritime Heritage Complex at Lothal, Gujarat. The two sides will work closely to develop this project in a comprehensive fashion, the foreign secretary said. He said the Cooperation Protocol between the National Library and Archives of the UAE and the National Archives of India will shape extensive bilateral cooperation in this field including restoration and preservation of archival material. The protocol will promote cooperation in archives management through the exchange of expertise, historical information, research, and studies. The agreement on interlinking of the instant payment platforms - UPI (India) and AANI (UAE) will facilitate seamless cross-border transactions between the two countries. Kwatra said the agreement on inter-linking domestic debit/credit cards - RuPay (India) with JAYWAN (UAE) was an important step in building financial sector cooperation and will enhance the universal acceptance of RuPay across the UAE. With inputs from agencies