Dubai's Burj Khalifa lit up with "Guest of Honor -Republic of India" ,ahead of PM Modi's address to the World Govt Summit on Wednesday.(14th February, 2024)

_{Wednesday, 14 February 2024}

PM Modi has received a warm welcome from Dubai's Crown Prince, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. He said that the close relations between the two countries provide an example of how to work together internationally. 

At the World Government Summit 2024, which is scheduled to take place in Dubai, PM Modi has accepted the invitation of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President of the United Arab Emirates, to attend as a Guest of Honor and give a special keynote presentation. 

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said in a post on X that the World Government Summit has developed into one of the world's premier forums for exchanging initiatives, success stories, and best practices in governance. 

Taking to X, Dubai's Crown Prince stated, "We extend a warm welcome to the Republic of India, the guest of honour at this year's World Governments Summit, and to His Excellency Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India. The strong ties between our nations serve as a model for international cooperation. 

"The @WorldGovSummit has evolved into one of the world's leading platforms for sharing governance best practices, success stories and initiatives, and envisioning the future of government. It is a pleasure to have India as a distinguished guest at this international event, where it will showcase its innovations, initiatives and projects across diverse sectors that are a model for accelerating development for government service delivery." 

PM Modi, who is on a two-day official visit to the UAE, will meet UAE Vice President Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. During his visit to the UAE, PM Modi will inaugurate the BAPS Mandir in Abu Dhabi. Earlier on Tuesday, PM Narendra Modi and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan held a bilateral meeting, and several Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) were exchanged in their presence here on Tuesday.

"Brother, firstly, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to you for your warm welcome. We have met five times in the last seven months, which is very rare. I have also got the opportunity to come here seven times...the way we have progressed in every field, there is a joint partnership between India and UAE in every field," said PM Modi in a meeting with the UAE President.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, and Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra were present in the meeting. During his interaction with the inaugural class of students from the IIT Delhi-Abu Dhabi Campus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed gratitude for the project's success in uniting students from the two nations. At the 'Ahlan Modi' event held at Zayed Sports Stadium in Abu Dhabi, he also spoke to the Indian diaspora. President Al Nahyan of the UAE greeted PM Modi as soon as he arrived at the airport. The two leaders gave each other hugs and handshakes. PM Modi is making his third trip to the UAE in the past eight months and his seventh overall since 2015. 

In a press release, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, "India and UAE enjoy warm, close and multi-faceted relations underpinned by strong political, cultural and economic linkages." "Following the landmark visit of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to the UAE in August 2015, bilateral relations between the two countries have been elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Both countries signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in February 2022 and a Local Currency Settlement (LCS) System in July 2023 to promote the use of the Indian Rupee and AED for cross-border transactions," it added. 

According to an MEA press release, India and the UAE are among each other's top trading partners, with a bilateral trade of about USD 85 billion in 2022-23. The UAE is also among the top four investors in India in terms of foreign direct investments in 2022-23. In the press release, MEA stated, “About 3.5 million strong and vibrant Indian community form the largest expatriate group in UAE. Their positive and well-appreciated contribution in the development of their host country has been an important anchor of our excellent bilateral engagement with the UAE.”