- The UAE and India have strong bonds of friendship based on centuries old cultural and economic ties between the two nations and subsequently this relationship flourished with the creation of the UAE Federation in 1971.
- The UAE appointed its first Ambassador to New Delhi in 1972 while India appointed its First Ambassador to the UAE in June 1973. Since then, both sides have made sincere efforts to further develop their relations in all fields.
- The two countries have established strong partnerships in the fields of commerce, trade and Investment. This partnership is expanding, diversifying and emerging into a strategic partnership with emphasis on cooperation in defence, energy, Space and IT sectors.
- The bilateral trade between the UAE and India stands nearly $60 billion and UAE is third largest trading partner of India after US and China.
- The UAE accounts for 8% of India’s oil imports and is the fifth largest supplier of crude oil to India.
- Both the countries have speeded up the relationship to transform from what used to be a buyer-seller relationship into strategic partnership.
- The UAE is the tenth biggest investor in India in terms of FDI. Prominent UAE companies such as DP World, EMAAR, RAKIA etc. have invested significantly in various sectors of the Indian economy.
- The bilateral relations have also received impetus from time-to-time with exchange of high-level visits from both sides including:
- The visit of Prime Minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi to UAE in August 2015, later in February 2018 and latest one in August 2019 to receive the Order of Zayed', the UAE's highest civilian award, in recognition of his vital role in building the strategic relationship with the UAE.
- Meanwhile, in reciprocal visits, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, visited India twice.
- First in 2016 and later in 2017 for Republic day celebration of India. The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was the chief Guest at the India’s Republic Day Celebrations on January 26, 2017.
- India was the 'Guest of Honour' country at the UAE's prestigious month-long annual cultural festival in March 2018, the Abu Dhabi Festival (ADF), which showcased diverse cultural wealth of India to the World bringing top level performances from India. The 27th edition of the New Delhi World Book held in January 2019, also saw the UAE's third largest emirate Sharjah being as its guest of honour. At Sharjah Pavilion around 57 Arabic language works translated into Hindi were the major attraction of the New Delhi World Book fair. It was noted that UAE accounts for 37% of India’s total book exports to the Arab World.
- Going beyond this, the Indian community of over 2.8 million is a major part of UAE's vibrant society and its economic success. It also makes a significant economic contribution to India and constitutes an indelible human bond of friendship between the two nations.
