India and the United Arab Emirates had some important talks about working together in New Delhi on 19 January 2026. This means India and the United Arab Emirates will be doing a lot things together like trading working on energy, defence, technology and keeping the region safe.
The United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan came to visit India. He had some big meetings, with Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They talked about lots of things that India and the United Arab Emirates can do together. India and the United Arab Emirates want to make their relationship stronger.
Trade and Economic Expansion
The main thing that came out of the talks was that they want to double the amount of trade between the two countries to 200 billion US dollars by the year 2032. This is happening because of the progress they made after signing the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement in 2022. Since then the trade that is not related to oil has gone up fast. The leaders of the two countries said that they need to make it easier for businesses to sell things in each others markets get rid of rules that’re in the way and work together better to make sure that trade keeps growing. The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement is helping the trade, between the two countries. They want to keep this growth going by making a few changes.
The main thing people looked at was making it easy for people to invest money helping companies and small businesses and creating new trade routes that connect India, the UAE and other areas in Africa and West Asia. They really wanted to help India, the UAE and these other areas, in Africa and West Asia by doing this.
Energy Security and LNG Agreement
India and the United Arab Emirates had some important talks about energy cooperation. One of the things they discussed was a deal for the United Arab Emirates to supply India with liquefied natural gas. The United Arab Emirates will send India 0.5 million tonnes of liquefied gas every year for ten years. This deal is really good for India because it will help India have a stable energy supply. At the time it shows that the United Arab Emirates is a trustworthy partner when it comes to energy. Energy cooperation is a part of the relationship, between India and the United Arab Emirates.
The leaders talked about working on renewable energy and green hydrogen and also sustainable infrastructure. This is in line with the energy goals that both countries want to achieve. They want to make sure that both countries are using energy. The leaders think that renewable energy and green hydrogen are important for this. They also think that sustainable infrastructure is necessary, for the energy transition of both countries.
Defence and Strategic Cooperation
The two countries have decided to work closely on defence matters. They signed a Letter of Intent to develop a Strategic Defence Partnership Framework. This means they will work together on making defence equipment do military exercises train each other and keep the seas safe.
The two sides are getting closer on these issues because they want to keep the region stable and stop terrorism. The world is changing fast. This is a big challenge, for them. They want to work to deal with these defence issues. Defence is a part of this and they want to make sure they are working together on defence.
Technology, Innovation, and Digital Collaboration
The partnership is also really big on technology and innovation. They talked about working on things like artificial intelligence and digital public infrastructure. They also discussed fintech and advanced computing.
Both countries think it is an idea to do projects together in space technology and data infrastructure. The goal of these projects is to make sure the countries work well together on technology for a time. Technology and innovation are important, to the partnership.
People-to-People and Regional Outlook
The leaders said they will keep working for the being of the Indian people living in the United Arab Emirates. The Indian people living in the United Arab Emirates are a group. The leaders think that the connection between the people of India and the people of the United Arab Emirates is very important for the relationship between the two countries. They also said that they do not like terrorism and they want people to talk to each other to solve problems. The Indian people living in the United Arab Emirates and the leaders of the countries want peace, in the region. They want people to be safe and happy. The leaders of the countries want the Indian people living in the United Arab Emirates to be treated well.
The conclusion of the India-UAE strategic partnership talks signals a deepening and broadening of bilateral relations, moving beyond trade into energy security, defence cooperation, and advanced technology. With clear targets and institutional mechanisms outlined, the partnership is set to play a key role in shaping economic and strategic engagement across South Asia and the Middle East in the coming decade.
