On May 15, during an official visit to the UAE, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan signed a series of key agreements focusing on defence, energy and maritime cooperation.
According to an official statement, the strategic defence partnership stipulates that both sides will enhance “defence industry cooperation and collaboration on innovation and advanced technologies, training, exercises, maritime security, cyber defence, secure communications and information exchange.”
Another major energy agreement saw the UAE agree to allow India to store crude oil at the Fujairah port as part of India's strategic petroleum reserve, along with a commitment to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The meeting came after the UAE accused Iran of attacking the eastern emirate of Fujairah with drones and missiles, sparking a fire at an oil refinery and wounding three Indian workers. Prime Minister Modi condemned the attacks in a post on social media platform X, stressing “strong condemnation of the attacks targeting the UAE.”
Around 4.3 million Indians live and work in the UAE, a country that has frequently come under missile and drone attacks from Iran amid escalating conflict.
On the economic front, the UAE President said discussions with Prime Minister Modi explored “measures to give new momentum to cooperation in the fields of energy, technology and other priority areas.” Mr Modi announced that the UAE would invest up to $5 billion to “further boost economic ties” with India.
Like many countries around the world, India is severely affected by the fuel crisis resulting from the US-Israel war on Iran and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. With 90% of its oil imports and about half of them passing through the Strait of Hormuz, India — the world's third-largest oil importer — is one of the hardest hit by this energy crisis. Recently, India was forced to increase fuel prices by 3%.
