Modi the first Indian Prime Minister to visit UAE in 34 years

mangaloretoday.com

UAE, Aug 16: Prime Minister Narendra Modi begins his two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates later today. He will be the first PM to visit the Arab state in over three decades - a country that’s also home to 2.6 million Indians.
 
It may be just a two-day trip but it’s packed with a wide range of business meets, interactions with Indian workers and visits to cultural icons of the country.

 

 

 

High on the PM’s agenda is improving trade and investment relations between the two nations which already have trade ties pegged at $60 billion per annum - a dip from what it was in 2013 but significant nonetheless, as UAE is comes only third after US and China.
 
Another concern that could come up in the talks between the ruler of Abu Dhabi and PM Modi is the looming threat of IS or the Islamic State, that the UAE considers a threat to the region.

On his first day, PM Modi will visit the iconic Sheikh Zayed mosque in Abu Dhabi that was built with marble brought in from all across the world, including from India. It also has the largest hand-woven carpet in the world where thousands can offer prayers at the same time.

His next stop will be a residential camp that is home to some 28,000 Indians workers. The PM will visit their accommodation area and also interact with around 300 workers.

The last stop on his visit will be the Dubai Cricket Stadium, where he will address 50,000 Indians. When registrations for the event opened just last week, within days, the organisers had to close applications as the numbers soon touched 51,000, exceeding the capacity.
 
The organisers are now going to set up giant viewing screens outside for those who want to hear the PM speak but have missed out on the registration deadline. Given that temperatures can easily cross 40 degrees in the day, special arrangements are also being made in the open stadium to beat the heat. The sheer scale of the event and turnout is expected to be unprecedented in the UAE.