 "Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit: Big takeaways from UAE President's visit to India")
In a big step towards strengthening bilateral ties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan finalized four agreements on Tuesday, including ones in food processing and renewable energy, to advance cooperation within the I2U2 grouping. The visit by Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan - the ruler of Abu Dhabi - was one of the main attractions of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in Gandhinagar. This visit is anticipated to boost trade and investment relations between India and the UAE after the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) is signed in February 2022. As a unique show of respect, PM Modi personally met the president of the UAE at the Ahmedabad airport. The two leaders then drove in a motorcade to the meeting location. In Ahmedabad, hundreds of people gathered along both sides of the road as the roadshow traveled several kilometers. PM Modi has previously hosted similar roadshows in Ahmedabad with foreign leaders like late Japan prime minister Shinzo Abe, former US president Donald Trump, and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This was the first time Modi had ever welcomed the head of a nation in West Asia to his home state of Gujarat in this manner. For Tuesday’s roadshow, the Ahmedabad local body presented a unique 3-kilometer road that was created using a public-private partnership concept. “Welcome to India my brother, HH@MohamedBinZayed. It’s an honour to have you visit us,” PM Modi said in a post on X. During the meeting between PM Modi and the UAE President, the two nations finalized four memorandums of understanding - one on investment cooperation in renewable energy between the UAE’s investment ministry and India’s renewable energy ministry, and another on investment cooperation in food parks development between the UAE’s investment ministry and India’s food processing ministry. Another Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the development of green and sustainable ports was signed by the Gujarat government and DP World, a global logistics company with headquarters in Dubai, to promote investment cooperation for creative health care projects. Media reports claimed that the agreements on food processing and renewable energy aligned with plans formulated by the India-Israel-UAE-United States, or I2U2, grouping to create projects in these two areas in Gujarat. The four countries of the economic bloc announced during the inaugural I2U2 Summit in July 2022 that the UAE would invest $2 billion to build a number of integrated food parks, for which India would contribute land and help with farmer integration. The goal of the food parks is to address food insecurity in West and South Asia. Officials were quoted as saying by the media that the agreements on food processing and renewable energy aligned with plans formulated by the India-Israel-UAE-United States, or I2U2, grouping to create projects in these two areas in Gujarat. In addition, the I2U2 had declared intentions to develop a 300MW wind and solar hybrid renewable energy plant in Gujarat. At the time, it was said that companies based in the United Arab Emirates are looking into ways to partner on this initiative as expertise and investment partners. According to spokesman for the external affairs ministry Randhir Jaiswal, this was the fourth meeting between the president of the UAE and the prime minister of India in less than seven months. They “hailed the rapidly transforming India-UAE partnership and reaffirmed their commitment to a shared and prosperous future.” “Four MOUs signed with the UAE one relates to the investment corporation in the innovative healthcare projects. The very title of this particular MOU will clearly signify that the investment cooperation in this field will expand to include all areas of health sector engagement…Investment cooperation in the renewable energy sector is again wide-ranging and covers- renewable, including green hydrogen, including solar. Also, there is an inherent thought of possible grid connectivity between India and UAE in that space. Food Park Development is a project, which was first discussed under the I2U2 framework,” India’s Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said in a statement on social media platform X.
Bhupendra Patel, the chief minister of Gujarat, and Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, the chairman of DP World, met earlier in the day to talk about infrastructure projects. According to an official, DP World is anticipated to sign three memorandums of understanding at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit that call for investments above ₹30,000 crore. DP World has previously entered a bid to build Gujarat’s Nargol Port, but the project was abandoned because of financial difficulties. According to officials, the AD Ports Group of the UAE is anticipated to ink a new contract to establish a port city in Gujarat. UAE-based Lulu Group International has plans to build India’s largest shopping mall in Ahmedabad, and the retail conglomerate is expected to sign an agreement to invest ₹3,000 crore in Gujarat. The Indian government has concentrated on strengthening its connections with important regions of West Asia, which contributes around 45% of the nation’s energy and is seen by New Delhi as an extended neighborhood. Nine million Indians reside in West Asia, the most of whom are residents of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Sansthan (BAPS) Swaminarayan Sanstha has built the first opulent Hindu temple in the Middle East, marking a historic milestone. The BAPS Hindu Mandir is an important religious and cultural landmark located in Abu Mureikah, Abu Dhabi, on a vast 27-acre plot of government property. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate this landmark temple on February 14, 2024, according per an official of BAPS Initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2003 while he was the chief minister, the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit seeks to establish the state as a global leader in trade and industry. “Gateway to the Future” is the theme for the forthcoming three-day event starting on January 10. Over 100 countries are expected to actively participate in the summit, with another 30 or so joining as partners. Twelve foreign organizations have also joined forces with the Gujarati government to endorse and publicize the occasion as a critical forum for promoting cooperation and investigating prospects in many fields. This worldwide participation highlights how important the summit is for promoting international. The event’s tenth edition, which takes place on January 10–12, will feature conferences covering subjects like innovation and technology, green hydrogen, sustainable manufacturing, electric vehicles, and renewable energy.