UAE president and Indian PM to meet at G20 summit

Reuters

UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed is likely to hold a bilateral meeting with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G20 summit in New Delhi over the weekend, Indian media reported.

The UAE has been invited as a guest for the G20 summit by India, the host nation.

Though not a state visit by the UAE president, this will be Mohammed Bin Zayed’s first visit to India after being appointed as leader of the Gulf state last year, Hindustan Times, an Indian daily, reported.

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During his visit to India, the UAE president will announce the Emirates will join the Global Biofuels Alliance, which includes several countries such as the US.

Mohammed bin Zayed telephoned Modi in August after India supported the UAE’s candidature for the Brics membership.

The central banks of the UAE and India in July signed a framework to promote using the Indian rupee and UAE dirham for cross-border transactions.

The two nations concluded the first-ever crude oil transaction through local currencies between Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and Indian Oil Corporation last month.

India in February became the first country with which the UAE signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (Cepa).

Bilateral trade has increased by 15 percent since the Cepa came into force on May 1, 2022. Trade between the two countries was $84.5 billion from April 2022 to March 2023.