Mohammed says Patil's visit is significant boost to ties

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai on Wednesday received the visiting Indian President in Dubai.

Sheikh Mohammed and Pratibha Devisingh Patil held talks on ways to further promote economic, trade, investment and cultural relations between the UAE and India.

Sheikh Mohammed described Patil's visit as a significant addition to efforts to further strengthen UAE-Indian relations and common interests. He recalled his state visit to India in 2007 and more recently in March 2010.

The Indian President complimented Sheikh Mohammed on his leadership and vision which had led to the impressive development of the country, particularly Dubai. 
 
She informed Sheikh Mohammed about the 56-member Indian business delegation accompanying her and mentioned that she was looking forward to her interaction with the Dubai Chamber of Commerce on Thursday. She spoke about the opportunities for cooperation between India and UAE especially in education, infrastructure, and particularly roads and the energy sector. She also mentioned the scope for Indian public sector companies participating in projects in the UAE as well as public-private partnership opportunities. 
 
One important area discussed was bilateral security cooperation. Sheikh Mohammed mentioned that India and UAE already had very good cooperation in this area. Patil reiterated that the agreement on security cooperation between the two countries should be signed early as this would help both countries to concentrate further on counter terrorism and maritime security.  Sheikh Mohammed agreed that both sides should continue with their cooperation and assist each other with respect to their security concerns.
 
The Indian President thanked the UAE government for its support for India’s election to the non-permanent seat in the UNSC. Sheikh Mohammed reiterated that UAE also supports India’s candidature for a permanent seat on an expanded UNSC.
 
Agriculture and food security were discussed, including cooperation in areas like dry land farming and desalination. The Indian President shared with Sheikh Mohammed India’s plan to embark on a Second Green Revolution.
 
Both leaders agreed that there was vast scope to increase bilateral trade which had already crossed $43 billion. They also recognised that UAE acts as a gateway for Indian exports to Central Asia, Africa and Europe and that Dubai had excellent re-export facilities. Sheikh Mohammed said that there was excellent scope for India and Gulf countries to consider joint ventures in third countries. 
 
The two sides discussed the question of empowerment of women and took note that both countries had women ministers in their cabinet and have been working on the empowerment of women, including in the area of higher education. 
 
Sheikh Mohammed said that UAE was very happy with the bilateral relationship which was very good and that the Indian President’s visit would give further impetus to relations between the two countries.

For her part, the Indian President hailed the progress the UAE is experiencing in all areas.

Present at the meeting were Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai; Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Emirates Group; Sheikh Majid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority; Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Minister of Foreign Trade and head of the honorary mission accompanying the visiting Indian President, Reem Al Hashimi, Minister of State, Mohammed Sultan Al Owais, UAE Ambassador to India, MK Lokesh, Indian Ambassador to the UAE, Lt. General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, Dubai Police Commander and Lt. General Musabbah Al Fattan, Director of the office of Sheikh Mohammed.

The Indian President has been on a state visit to the UAE since Sunday. On Monday, she was received by the President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. She has been active meeting with top UAE officials and Indian community members based in the UAE.

The Indian President arrived in Dubai on Tuesday and met the Indian community at an evening funbction, where she launched the Indian Workers Resource Centre, the first of its kind outside of India.

She is due to open the Indian Trade and Exhibition Centre at Expo Centre Sharjah during her visit. She was also scheduled to visit the world's tallest tower, Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

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