Modi hails UAE ties ahead of temple opening
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said ties with the UAE had reached “unprecedented heights” as he started a visit to inaugurate the Middle East’s largest Hindu temple in the Gulf state.
He spoke after the two governments signed deals, including a framework agreement on a major trade and transport route, at the start of his third trip to the UAE in the past eight months.
His two-day visit comes ahead of India’s national elections expected in April.
Speaking at an Abu Dhabi stadium packed with 40,000 expatriates, Modi said, “bilateral ties with the UAE are reaching unprecedented heights” as he vowed to boost the South Asian country’s economy if voted back into office.
“We have become the world’s fifth largest economy from the world’s 11th largest economy during my first two terms in office,” he said.
“I guarantee that we will be the world’s third largest economy during my third term in office.”
Modi was due to inaugurate the region’s largest Hindu temple on Wednesday, a move he described as an “auspicious moment” since the proposal was first made in 2015.
Earlier, Modi met UAE president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, their fifth meeting in eight months.
They signed several deals, including a bilateral investment treaty, building on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement signed in 2022, India’s foreign ministry said.
They also signed an “intergovernmental framework agreement” on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, a ship-to-rail transit network that will supplement existing sea and land routes.
The UAE is India’s third largest trading partner, with a bilateral trade volume of around $85 billion between 2022 and 2023.
Before flying out to Qatar on Wednesday, Modi will deliver a keynote address at the World Government Summit, an annual gathering of political and business leaders in Dubai, the UAE’s business hub.
But the highlight of his visit will be the inauguration of the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) Temple in Abu Dhabi, the region’s largest.
It is the first Hindu temple in the UAE capital.
“The BAPS Temple is a celebration of UAE-India friendship, deep-rooted cultural bonds and an embodiment of the UAE’s global commitment to harmony, tolerance and peaceful coexistence,” India’s foreign ministry said.
Inaugurating a Hindu temple of this size in a Muslim country is significant for Modi and his government.
For Modi, “this visit will be focused on the diaspora,” said Ian Hall, author of the book “Modi and the Reinvention of Indian Foreign Policy.”
The new temple in the UAE helps “the Modi government’s broader narrative” ahead of India’s parliamentary elections, said Hall.
“It wants to show that it is a defender and supporter of the (Indian) diaspora throughout the world,” he added.
“The diaspora could play a big part this year — if they feel valued and appreciated, the BJP hopes they’ll tell their family back home and encourage them to vote.”