PM to address Indian diaspora in UAE visit
In his two-day trip to the United Arab Emirates, PM Modi will address an audience of 50,000 people in Dubai Cricket Association stadium. The typical Indian expat of UAE is a blue collar worker who will eventually return to India, unlike his audience in the US. Therefore, Modi has a real opportunity to address their welfare besides improving trade and bilateral relations with UAE.
Formal announcement of Modi's UAE visit
Though the news of PM visiting UAE had been doing rounds for days, the official announcement came only on Tuesday. The Ministry of External Affairs said the PM would visit Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The two-day trip which begins on 16 Aug, is the first Indian Prime Ministerial visit in 34 years. Further, this is Modi's first trip to an Islamic country.
Agenda of PM's trip
During the visit, Modi will seek enhanced cooperation in energy and trade. He would also reach out to investors in the UAE, which has a sovereign wealth fund of more than $800 billion, to promote India as an attractive business destination. Security is another major area of cooperation between India and UAE, especially with the emergence of the Islamic State as a global threat.
India-UAE trade relations
In 2014-15, trade between India and UAE crossed US$59 Bn, with Indian exports worth US$33.3 Bn to the UAE and US$26 Bn worth of UAE's exports to India. Indians occupy important positions in business establishments in UAE. The unskilled and semi skilled workers from India are a dominant force in their construction industry. Investment from UAE in India has mostly been in real estate.
UAE, a major economic partner
India is UAE's 2nd largest trading partner and UAE is India's 3rd largest trade partner. Around 2.6 million Indians live in the UAE and as high as $12 billion annual remittances to India comes from the UAE.
Grand reception awaits the PM
Indians in the UAE have chalked out grand plans to welcome Narendra Modi. The Indian Community Welfare Community (ICWC) is organizing a public reception at the Dubai Cricket Stadium. ICWC said that an organizing committee has been formed to make it a grand success A website and a Facebook page have been set up to facilitate people's visit to the site of the reception.
