Abu Dhabi: Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, chaired the 13th meeting of the 'UAE-India Joint Committee', which was held through video conference.
Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of India, chaired the Indian side.
Sheikh Abdullah began his speech by extending sincere condolences to the government and people of India after the Air India Express plane crash.
“On behalf of the UAE government and people, I would also like to express the deepest solidarity with the grieved families of the victims who passed away because of the recent flooding and COVID-19 infections in India, wishing all those infected a speedy recovery. May our two friendly nations remain prosperous, safe, and healthy,” he said.
Sheikh Abdullah extended greetings to Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and to the government and people of India on the occasion of India’s Independence Day.
“The efforts undertaken by both sides in ensuring this meeting took place in light of the current global health situation affirms the deep bonds of friendship that exist between our two countries leadership and people, as well as both sides’ keenness to enhance mutual cooperation and promote bilateral relations in various sectors of common interest,” he said.
Sheikh Abdullah underlined the strong ties between the two countries, saying: “The UAE sees in the Republic of India, a friend and a strategic partner that joins the UAE in its efforts to establishing pillars of the peace and security at the regional and international levels, as the two countries coordinate and exchange views on the most prominent geopolitical issues and developments in the region and the world, all of which are on the basis of mutual understanding and trust and an appreciation of the expected repercussions on political and economic interests for both sides.”
“UAE-India strategic relations have once again proven their superiority to face the outbreak of COVID-19 and its economic implications. The past months showed exceptional cooperation between the two sides in all priority sectors, notably civil aviation, food security, energy, and health. Indeed, this cooperation is an example to follow between partners at the regional and global levels.
In this context, I would like to commend the exceptional flights that have been organized to secure the safe return of the citizens of the two countries, in addition to the continued smooth flow of food commodities and medical supplies between the two sides. I would like to also commend the fruitful cooperation between the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and the Indian side in the field of securing energy supplies,” he said.
Dr. Jaishankar congratulated Sheikh Abdullah for the two historic milestones achieved by the UAE recently: the successful launch of the ‘Hope Probe’ to Mars and the start of operations at the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant.
He also thanked Sheikh Abdullah for the support given to the members of the Indian community as the world is faced with COVID-19 pandemic. He commended the UAE’s efforts to facilitate repatriation of the Indian residents wishing to return to their country during the pandemic.
At the end of the meeting, the two ministers signed minutes of the 13th Session of the India-UAE Joint Commission meeting.
The meeting was attended by Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, UAE Minister of State, Abdul Nasser Al Shaali, Assistant Minister of Economic and Trade Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates, Dr Ahmed Al Banna, the UAE Ambassador to India, Pavan Kapoor, Ambassador of India to the UAE, and several officials from both countries.
