PM Modi welcomed and appreciated the UAE’s ‘active and constructive’ participation in BRICS under India’s chairship.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held a bilateral meeting with His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi. The two leaders reviewed the progress made in the India-UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and exchanged views on expanding cooperation across a range of emerging and strategically important sectors. During the meeting, Modi and Sheikh Khaled reiterated the significance of the India-UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which continues to be supported by strong and enduring ties in the political, cultural, commercial and energy sectors, along with close people-to-people relations between the two countries. The two leaders also recalled recent high-level engagements between India and the UAE, including the visit of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to India in January 2026 and Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the United Arab Emirates in May 2026.
They noted that regular leadership-level exchanges have played an important role in further strengthening the bilateral relationship. Modi welcomed and appreciated the UAE’s “active and constructive” participation in BRICS under India’s chairship. The leaders took note of the positive outcomes achieved within the grouping during India’s chairship and agreed that New Delhi and Abu Dhabi would continue to coordinate closely through the BRICS platform to promote their shared interests and priorities and contribute towards strengthening cooperation among BRICS member countries. The discussions also covered the growing economic and investment partnership between India and the UAE. The leaders reviewed the progress achieved in several areas of bilateral cooperation and welcomed the announcement by UAEbased International Holding Company (IHC) regarding its plans to invest $11.5 billion in the development of an integrated greenfield aluminium project in Odisha. The proposed project, which has been described as India’s largest integrated aluminium investment, is expected to significantly enhance Odisha’s role in the global aluminium industry and contribute towards establishing the state as a major international hub for aluminium manufacturing.
The investment is also expected to provide further momentum to the expanding economic and commercial partnership between India and the UAE. Modi and Sheikh Khaled further discussed the potential role of L’Imad, the UAE’s newest sovereign investment fund, in strengthening investment flows and creating new opportunities for deeper economic cooperation between the two countries. The leaders emphasised the scope for leveraging such investment mechanisms to advance mutually beneficial projects and further consolidate bilateral economic ties. In addition to trade and investment, the two leaders discussed opportunities for expanding cooperation in a number of strategic and emerging areas. These included defence, space, nuclear energy, technology and innovation, reflecting the increasing diversification of the India-UAE partnership beyond traditional areas of economic engagement. The meeting highlighted the expanding scope and growing depth of relations between India and the UAE, with both sides reiterating the importance of maintaining regular high-level political engagement and strengthening coordination on issues of mutual interest. The interaction also reaffirmed the longstanding tradition of leadershiplevel engagement between the two countries and underscored the “generational continuity” that continues to underpin the enduring and multifaceted relationship between India and the United Arab Emirates
