Foreign Ministers of the UAE and India discussed the mutual relations between the countries during the thirteenth meeting of the “UAE-India Joint Committee” on Tuesday.
The meeting, which was held through video conference, had the presence of Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of India and other diplomats.
The UAE expressed grief over the loss of lives in India, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sheikh Abdullah underlined the strong ties between the two countries, saying: “The UAE sees in the Republic of India, a friend and a strategic partner that joins the UAE in its efforts to establishing pillars of the peace and security at the regional and international levels, as the two countries coordinate and exchange views on the most prominent geopolitical issues and developments in the region and the world, all of which are on the basis of mutual understanding and trust and an appreciation of the expected repercussions on political and economic interests for both sides.”
“The UAE-India’s strategic relations have once again proven their superiority to face the outbreak of “COVID-19″ pandemic and its economic implications. The past months showed exceptional cooperation between the two sides in all priority sectors, notably civil aviation, food security, energy, and health. Indeed, this cooperation is an example to follow between partners at the regional and global levels,” he added
For his part, Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar praised his country’s close relations of friendship and strategic cooperation with the UAE and emphasised keenness to develop them in a way that will meet aspirations of the two countries’ leaderships and benefit their peoples.
The Indian minister congratulated Sheikh Abdullah for the two historic milestones achieved by the UAE recently: the successful launch of the ”Hope Probe” to the Mars and the successful operation of Unit 1 of Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant.
He also commended the UAE’s efforts to facilitate repatriation of the Indian residents wishing to return to their country during pandemic.
The Indian minister reiterated his country’s welcome to the peace treaty between the UAE and the State of Israel, stressing that both countries are major strategic partners of India.
The meeting was attended by Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, UAE Minister of State, Abdul Nasser Al Shaali, Assistant Minister of Economic and Trade Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates, Dr Ahmed Al Banna, the UAE Ambassador to India, Pavan Kapoor, Ambassador of India to the UAE, and several officials from both countries.
