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From historic ties to a modern partnership built for the future
As India marks its 80th Independence Day, its partnership with the UAE reflects a shared journey built on trust, economic cooperation and enduring people-to-people ties
- PUBLISHED: Mon 17 Aug 2026, 8:30 AM
Every year, as the tricolour is unfurled across Indian missions, schools, and community halls in the UAE, I am reminded that Independence Day is not merely a commemoration of a date in history, it is a celebration of an idea: a free, diverse, and democratic India that continues to grow in confidence and capability. This year, as India marks its 80th Independence Day, it is fitting to reflect on one of the most enduring relationships in India's foreign policy — its partnership with the UAE, a nation with which India shares not just geography and trade, but centuries of shared history and mutual respect.
A Relationship Older Than Nations
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Long before the modern nation-states of India and the UAE came into being, the dhows that sailed between Gujarat's ports and the Trucial Coast carried more than spices, pearls, and textiles — they carried people, stories, and kinship. Indian traders settled in the sheikhdoms of the Gulf generations before oil was discovered, and Emirati merchants found in India's western coast a reliable partner in commerce and community. When we speak of India-UAE relations today, we speak of a friendship that predates both Republics — rooted in shared maritime traditions and the exchange of goods and goodwill across the Arabian Sea.
That inheritance of trust is visible even today in the old souks of Dubai, where Indian traders have run businesses for over a century, and in the warmth with which Emirati citizens speak of India as a second home. Heritage, in this sense, is not a relic we look back upon with nostalgia — it is the bedrock upon which the modern partnership stands.
From Historical Ties to Strategic Partnership
What makes this relationship remarkable is how seamlessly civilisational connect has translated into a robust, forward-looking strategic partnership. The elevation of ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2017 was not the beginning of friendship — it was recognition of a friendship that had already matured over decades. The frequent high level exchanges between, the warmth among our leadership and the institutionalised dialogues across trade, defence, energy, and technology all point to a more ambitious future oriented partnership.
Today, the UAE is India's third-largest trading partner, and India is the UAE's second-largest, with bilateral trade crossing $100 billion annually. This is the result of conscious effort by the leadership of both nations to translate historical goodwill into economic integration. The India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), in force since 2022, has been a landmark achievement — one of the fastest-negotiated trade agreements in India's history- within 88 days.
Under CEPA, trade in goods and services has expanded significantly, tariffs have fallen, and market access has widened across textiles, pharmaceuticals, gems and jewellery, engineering goods, and agriculture. Its success is evident in the fact that both countries set a revised target of achieving $200 billion by 2032.
Beyond trade, the UAE has emerged as one of the top ten investors in India, with Emirati funds and enterprises investing across infrastructure, renewable energy, logistics, and technology. The partnership on green hydrogen and joint investments in India's ports and airports reflect a relationship that has moved from transactional trade into genuine co-development. Indian investment in the UAE — across retail, hospitality, healthcare, and financial services — similarly reflects the confidence Indian businesses place in this economy as a gateway to the wider region.
Renewable energy has become a particularly promising frontier, with both nations finding common cause in the transition to sustainable energy through solar, green hydrogen, and nuclear cooperation. Collaboration in space technology, fintech, digital payments — including the linkage of India's UPI with the UAE's payment systems and artificial intelligence signals that this partnership is as much about tomorrow's economy as today's trade figures.
The Human Bridge: Our Diaspora
No account of India-UAE relations is complete without acknowledging the community that has built this bridge with its own hands and enterprise — more than 4 million-strong Indian diaspora, the largest expatriate community in UAE. From engineers and doctors to construction workers and entrepreneurs, the Indian community here is a living embodiment of this partnership.
It is a matter of pride that the UAE leadership has repeatedly acknowledged the Indian community's contribution to the nation's development. In turn, the UAE's progressive policies — the Golden Visa scheme, long-term residency options, and the recognition of temples and Gurudwaras as part of its multicultural fabric reflect the openness and acceptance. The inauguration of the BAPS Hindu Mandir in Abu Dhabi in 2024 stands as a powerful symbol of this inclusive vision, where the UAE's ethos of tolerance and India's values of unity in diversity find common expression.
A Partnership for Progress, Prosperity
As India moves towards "Viksit Bharat" by 2047 and the UAE pursues its own vision of economic diversification, this partnership stands poised to write its most consequential chapter yet. The trust built over centuries of maritime trade, the goodwill of generations of diaspora, and the institutional architecture of CEPA together form a foundation strong enough to support far greater ambitions.
This Independence Day, as we celebrate India's journey of freedom and self-reliance, we also celebrate a friendship that has stood the test of time. From the dhows of yesterday to the digital economies of tomorrow, India and the UAE remain as ever united by heritage and connected by progress.
Jai Hind. Long live India-UAE friendship.