Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, talks with the leader of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during a meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi on Saturday, with the two leaders reviewing the growing India-UAE partnership and identifying defence, space, nuclear energy, technology and innovation as areas for further cooperation.The meeting comes amid an intensification of high-level political engagement between New Delhi and Abu Dhabi.The leaders recalled the recent visit of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to India in January and Modi’s visit to the UAE in May, underlining the regular leadership-level contact that has become a defining feature of the relationship.The two sides also welcomed the UAE’s “active and constructive” participation in BRICS under India’s chairship and agreed to continue working closely within the grouping to advance shared interests and strengthen cooperation.A significant focus of Saturday’s talks was investment.“The leaders acknowledged the progress achieved in bilateral relations in a wide range of sectors. They positively noted the announcement by UAE’s International Holding Company’s to invest in the development of a USD 11.5 billion integrated greenfield aluminium project in Odisha, India’s largest integrated aluminium investment. The project is expected to position Odisha as a global aluminium manufacturing hub,” said an MEA statement following the meeting.The two leaders also discussed the role of L’Imad, the UAE’s newest sovereign investment fund, in deepening investment flows between the two countries, besides cooperation in strategic and emerging technologies.The meeting is the latest in a series of high-level engagements involving Sheikh Khaled, who has emerged as an important interlocutor for India in its relationship with Abu Dhabi. His first official visit to India as Crown Prince, in September 2024, resulted in agreements spanning nuclear energy, LNG and other strategic sectors. The visit was also significant because it was the first by Sheikh Khaled to India in his capacity as Crown Prince.Sheikh Khaled returned to New Delhi in February 2026 to participate in the AI Impact Summit, his second official visit to India. The political relationship was elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2017, during the visit of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, to India as chief guest for the Republic Day celebrations.Modi’s relationship with the UAE leadership has since been marked by unusually frequent high-level contact. During his 2018 UAE visit, he met both Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, with the MEA describing the UAE as a valued strategic partner with fast-tracked cooperation in the economy, energy, high technology and security.The personal equation between Modi and the Abu Dhabi leadership was further underscored during his 2019 visit, when Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed conferred the Order of Zayed, the UAE’s highest civilian honour, on the Prime Minister.The relationship has subsequently acquired a strong economic architecture. The two countries signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in 2022 and a Local Currency Settlement mechanism in 2023 to facilitate cross-border transactions in the Indian rupee and UAE dirham. The UAE has also become one of India’s major trading and investment partners, while its roughly 3.5-million-strong Indian community remains a major anchor of bilateral ties.Modi’s February 2024 UAE visit further broadened the relationship, with agreements covering investment, the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, digital infrastructure and the nuclear sector. He also inaugurated the BAPS Hindu Mandir in Abu Dhabi, which the MEA has since described as a cultural symbol.The momentum has continued into 2026. During Modi’s May visit to the UAE, India and Abu Dhabi advanced cooperation in areas including strategic petroleum reserves and energy, while the two sides continued to expand the investment and technology dimensions of the partnership.The MEA said the latest interaction reaffirmed the “tradition of regular leadership-level engagement and the generational continuity” underpinning India’s relationship with the UAE.More Like ThisPublished on September 12, 2026
