PM Modi's UAE visit to advance Strategic Defence Partnership

New Delhi: PM Narendra Modi's brief visit to the UAE enroute to Europe this week will seek to advance Strategic Defence Partnership, the Letter of Intent for which was signed in January during the visit of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

While the key focus of the visit will be on showcasing solidarity with the UAE leadership amid war, Strategic Defence Partnership (SDP) will be on the agenda bolstering New Delhi's strategic footprints in the region in the backdrop of Pakistan's efforts over the past year to regain its influence in West Asia, according to persons familiar with India's outreach to the region.

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The SDP will span defence industry collaboration, innovation, special operations, interoperability, cyber security and counter-terrorism. The SDP's intended aim is to build on the already existing robust partnership between India and the UAE.

Understandably, during the PM's visit, a key focus of dialogue with the UAE President will be on the regional situation in the backdrop of the war and attacks on the UAE that also injured Indians. Last week, Modi strongly condemned the attack on the Fujairah Petroleum Industries Zone in the UAE that left three Indian nationals injured.