Abu Dhabi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at a massive cultural programme in Abu Dhabi Tuesday evening, praised the growing synergy between India and United Arab Emirates and the direction it would take in his "third term". Thanking Indian expats in UAE, he said they were responsible for the burgeoning partnership with the Gulf nation he was visiting for the seventh time. There were also promises that "Modi's guarantee" will work every time.
"Modi ki guarantee means guarantee pura hone ki guarantee (Modi's guarantee means that every guarantee will be met," he declared at the "Ahlan Modi" programme at the Zayed Sports City Stadium, attended by thousands of expat Indians.
"This is the time to hail the friendship between India and the UAE. In this historic stadium, every heartbeat echoes the same sentiment. Long live Bharat-UAE friendship," PM Modi said at the event, which started with national anthems of the two countries.
One of the ways, he hinted, was taking India's UPI to UAE to build a system where money transfers can be made directly.
"India's Rupay helped UAE develop their domestic payment card. They have named the card Jeevan... Soon UPI services will start here and this will facilitate seamless payment transaction and you can send money to your family without any hassle," he said.
Over the last nine years, India's cooperation with the UAE has shot up in sectors like trade, defence, food and energy security and education. The two nations are among each other's top trading partners, with a bilateral trade of about $85 billion in 2022-23, official data shows.
Yet, the bond between the two nations is of "talent, innovation, culture", PM Modi said. "Over the past few years, we have given a boost to our ties... UAE is India's third biggest trade partner," he added, congratulating expat Indians for their role in the process.
There were words of praise for President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, whom the Prime Minister has repeatedly referred to as his "brother", for his contribution to the growing partnership.
"The way he takes care of you in UAE and the way he cares about your interests, it's rare to see that and that's why people are here to thank him for that. I'm privileged that UAE honoured me with their highest civilian award, this is an honour for all of you," he added.