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A win-win relationship

On Monday, when His Highness rubs shoulders with India”s high and mighty on an equal footing, he is carrying with him the pride of UAE’s heightened status in the comity of nations by virtue of its phenomenal growth.

UAE is today home to millions of Indians who are either on work or doing business here. Yet, there, in fact, is no hype surrounding this relationship. The build-up over the years has been one guided by a sense of mutual trust and an undercurrent of pragmatism. Most importantly, this is a relationship that has seen only ups, and no downs. This is a relationship that both sides cherish, and seek to promote.

Shaikh Mohammed is today one of the Arab world’s most energetic and charismatic leaders, carrying with him the confidence of the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. And, in this visit, he is carrying with him the stamp of a highly successful leader, a leader with the Midas touch. He is also carrying with him the symbolic weight of generations -- the generations that closely interacted with and furthered the relations between the two countries in a spirit of give-and-take.

India is currently in a happy state of economic re-generation, marked by high-end market growth and technological advancements, and led by men of mettle, like scientist-turned President APJ Abdul Kalam and economist-turned politician Manmohan Singh.

The high-level discussions in New Delhi between the two sides, will, as reports go, be centred around promotion of bilateral relations, covering areas of economy, trade, and politics, leading to signing of several agreements of cooperation. Economic and business-related subjects are bound to be high on the agenda, especially as the UAE leadership, and Shaikh Mohammed in particular, have demonstrated a somewhat single-minded devotion to economic growth.

With a forward-looking leadership at the helm, India too is, currently, on the same wave-length. It is in this context that a high point of the discussions, as hinted by the Indian ambassador here, will be on investment opportunities in mega infrastructural projects there. UAE’s economic clout, as also expertise in this respect that it gained in recent years and matching with the best in the world, will likely be of special attraction as well as an advantage to India.

Without doubt, this visit will be a landmark one both for the UAE and India. It is set to outline the agenda for the future relations between the two countries in more meaningful ways. We will hear more about it in the coming hours.