RIYADH: The first GCC-India Ministerial Meeting for Strategic Dialogue was held in Riyadh on Monday. Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar affirmed in his speech that the Gulf-Indian ties are deep-rooted in various fields, making progress on creating new partnerships in multiple areas. In the course of time, these ties developed and grew in different sectors such as technology, defense, culture, and others, Jaishankar added, pointing out that there are nine million Indians working in the GCC, contributing to the region’s economic development.

On the situation in Gaza, the Indian top diplomat said it was of the foremost concern, deeming “painful” the continuing death of innocent civilians and expressing hope for an immediate ceasefire. On his part, GCC Secretary General Jasem Al-Budaiwi emphasized that the first GCC-India meeting aimed to strengthen and develop bilateral relations based on shared interests to establish stability and prosperity in the region.

Economic cooperation is as well a key factor, as the trade exchange between GCC countries and India reached $174 million in 2022, which shows great strategic cooperation between the two sides, he added. He underscored that these investments work to ensure mutual success and opportunities for both sides, reaffirming the need to achieve great economic benefits as well as opportunities for joint investments in different fields such as renewable energy, contributing to preserve the environment, and achieving sustainability. Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah Al-Yahya headed Kuwait’s delegations participating in the Ministerial Meeting.

Meanwhile, India and Abu Dhabi signed five agreements on Monday to cement relations in the nuclear, energy, and food sectors on the sidelines of talks between Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Khaled bin Mohammad bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement that the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, who arrived in New Delhi on Monday an official visit, held bilateral discussions with Modi.

“The two leaders expressed satisfaction over the substantial progress achieved in recent years in the India-UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and discussed opportunities to further widen and deepen the partnership in all areas of bilateral cooperation,” the statement said. They expected that the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and the Bilateral Investment Treaty would provide further push to strong economic and commercial partnerships between the two nations. “They also underscored the need to explore new areas of untapped potential, particularly in nuclear energy, critical minerals, green hydrogen, artificial intelligence, and cutting-edge technologies,” the statement added.

The five MoUs are on nuclear cooperation between Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited and Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, an agreement for long-term LNG supply between Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Indian Oil Corporation Limited, a MoU between ADNOC and India Strategic Petroleum Reserve Limited (ISPRL), a production concession agreement for Abu Dhabi Onshore Block 1 between Urja Bharat and ADNOC, and an MoU between the government of Gujarat and Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company PJSC on food park development in India.

The nuclear cooperation agreement will “enhance cooperation in the operation and maintenance of nuclear power plants, sourcing of nuclear goods and services from India, exploring mutual investment opportunities, and capacity building,” the statement said. As part of the agreement for long-term supply of one million metric tons per year of LNG, it would be supplied by ADNOC. — KUNA

There are long-term agreements between IOCL and GAIL with ADNOC to supply 1.2 million metric tons per year and 0.5 million metric tons per year, respectively. The ADNOC and ISPRL MoU is meant to explore additional opportunities for crude storage in India and the renewal of existing ones. Sheikh Khaled bin Mohammad also met Indian President Droupadi Murmu and discussed ways to further cement the warm, historic, and comprehensive ties between the two countries. The visiting Abu Dhabi leader is scheduled to visit Mumbai tomorrow to participate in an India-UAE Business Forum. - KUNA