Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince visited India for an AI summit, meeting PM Modi to bolster the strategic partnership. The visit marked the 4th anniversary of CEPA and saw new agreements on a supercomputer cluster, health cooperation, and investment.
Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan paid an official visit to India from February 18 to19, to participate in the AI Impact Summit in the national capital, reaffirming the growing strategic partnership between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
During the visit, the Crown Prince met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the summit. The two leaders reviewed the progress of the India-UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, underscoring strong political, cultural, commercial, energy and people-to-people ties. They recalled recent high-level engagements, including visits by UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and other members of the royal families of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, highlighting the sustained momentum in bilateral relations.
Review of Bilateral Progress
Both leaders noted significant advancements across key sectors such as defence and security, trade and investment, education and cultural cooperation.
Economic Partnership and Investment Growth
Marking four years since the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) on February 18, 2022, they observed that bilateral trade and investment have witnessed remarkable growth under the agreement.
The leaders commended strong two-way investment flows and encouraged UAE sovereign wealth funds to expand their footprint in India. They also acknowledged the potential role of L'Imad, the UAE's newest sovereign fund, in further strengthening economic cooperation.
Focus on AI and Emerging Technologies
Discussions also covered collaboration in strategic and emerging sectors, including space, nuclear energy, technology and innovation, with artificial intelligence emerging as a central pillar of the partnership.
Major Agreements Finalised
MoU on Health and Medicine
Among key outcomes of the visit was the finalisation of a Memorandum of Understanding between India's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the UAE's Ministry of Health and Prevention to enhance cooperation in health and medicine. The MoU aims to promote professional exchanges, institutional collaboration, research, digital health, pharmaceuticals and the development of modern health technologies.
AI Supercomputer Cooperation
In a major boost to AI cooperation, a term sheet was finalised between the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), UAE-based technology company G42, and Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence for the deployment of a supercomputer cluster in India. The project, announced during the UAE President's January visit to India, will form part of the AI India Mission and be accessible to the public and private sectors for research, application development and commercial use.
Financial Services Expansion
Additionally, the Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company will establish an office at GIFT City in Gujarat, further expanding the UAE's business presence in India's financial services hub.
Sheikh Khaled congratulated Prime Minister Modi on the successful organisation of the AI Impact Summit. Prime Minister Modi, in turn, welcomed Switzerland's initiative to host the next AI Summit, which will subsequently be followed by the UAE.
The visit underscored the tradition of regular high-level exchanges between India and the UAE and reinforced their shared commitment to elevating AI and advanced technologies as a core pillar of the bilateral relationship. (ANI)
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