The 3.3 million strong Indian community in UAE has been the cornerstone of our bilateral ties. The Indian workers have given their utmost to build the great modern cities of UAE. Our Consulate continues to work to the best of its abilities for the benefit of this large Indian community….writes Mr Vipul, Consul General of India, United Arab Emirates
On the occasion of the 71st anniversary of India’s Independence Day, I congratulate all Indians living in Dubai and the Northern Emirates of UAE. Independence Day is a time when we remember the sacrifices of the leaders of our freedom struggle and commit ourselves for the betterment of our nation. To Indians living in UAE this is also a time when we thank the leaders of UAE for giving a fabulous atmosphere for Indians to carry on with their businesses, professions and work and support their families and communities both here and in India.
The last one year marked another year of historic achievements in the India-UAE relationship. The biggest was the visit of Prime Minister Modi to Abu Dhabi and Dubai in February this year. This was the fourth consecutive year in which there was exchange at highest levels between the two countries. Prime Minister’s visit was as historic and successful as his visit to UAE in 2015 and the visit of Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in 2017 as the Chief Guest on our Republic Day. There were also several other high level visits from Cabinet Ministers from both countries and Chief Ministers of several of our States to UAE in the last one year. Recently, Foreign Minister of UAE H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan paid an important visit to India.
With all these visits, our comprehensive strategic partnership has continued to widen and deepen in scope. There were several remarkable developments in traditional areas like energy and trade and investment in the last year and new vistas of cooperation were established in areas like artificial intelligence and space. Our cooperation also strengthened in other areas such as food processing, skill development, logistics and infrastructure development in India. We have also been working together to ensure large and successful participation of India in Expo 2020 which is reflective of the historical ties between India and UAE as well
as the current dynamism both of India and our bilateral relationship.
The 3.3 million strong Indian community in UAE has been the cornerstone of our bilateral ties. The Indian workers have given their utmost to build the great modern cities of UAE. Our Consulate continues to work to the best of its abilities for the benefit of this large Indian community in pursuance of Government of India’s motto to ensure the welfare of each Indian abroad. It has been our constant endeavour to give our services with efficiency, transparency and compassion.
From January 26 this year we have also started organizing Open House in the Consulate on the last Friday of every month. This has proved quite successful and a number of people have taken advantage of coming to the Consulate on a weekend holiday for redressal of their issues. We have also started a meeting with community leaders after the Open House.
Currently, we are busy in guiding Indians on how to avail of the Amnesty launched by UAE on August 1. We are operating two help desks in Aweer and one in the Consulate and are working with local authorities and our Associations so that people are able to take advantage of this important humanitarian gesture of UAE leadership. Any Indian who does not have a regular and legal stay in UAE should utilize this opportunity. With our commitment to continue to serve for the betterment of India and India-UAE relationship, let me again wish happy Independence Day to all Indians. Jai Hind!