PM Modi to make a quick stopover in UAE before travelling to Europe next month

A high-level diplomatic engagement between India and the UAE was announced for mid-May 2026, comprising a three-hour stopover in Abu Dhabi ahead of a multi-n...

What Happened

A high-level diplomatic engagement between India and the UAE was announced for mid-May 2026, comprising a three-hour stopover in Abu Dhabi ahead of a multi-nation European tour (Italy, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands).
Discussions with Emirati President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ) are expected to cover bilateral trade under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), regional stability in West Asia, and energy security amid ongoing disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz.
The visit follows a UAE presidential visit to India in January 2026 during which bilateral trade reached the $100 billion milestone, a 10-year LNG supply agreement was signed (5 million tonnes/year from 2028), and a Letter of Intent for a Strategic Defence Partnership was finalised.
The European leg includes the third India-Nordic Summit in Norway — originally scheduled for May 2025 but postponed — alongside bilateral engagements in Italy, Sweden, and the Netherlands.
India-UAE collaboration on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) remains a key infrastructure diplomacy thread connecting the bilateral relationship to India's broader Indo-Pacific and connectivity strategy.

Static Topic Bridges

India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA)

The India-UAE CEPA, signed on February 18, 2022, and effective from May 1, 2022, is India's first Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with a Gulf country and was negotiated in record time (approximately 88 days). It provides significant tariff liberalisation: the UAE eliminated duties on 97.4% of its tariff lines (covering 99% of Indian imports by value), while India granted immediate duty elimination on over 80% of its tariff lines (covering 90% of exports by value). The agreement covers goods, services, investments, and regulatory frameworks.

Signed: February 18, 2022; Effective: May 1, 2022
Bilateral trade crossed $100 billion in FY 2024-25 (up from $72.9 billion in FY 2021-22)
Target: $200 billion by 2032 (set at January 2026 summit)
UAE eliminated duties on 97.4% of tariff lines; India on 80%+
Key export sectors benefiting: gems and jewellery, engineering goods, electronics, agriculture, textiles
UAE is India's largest trading partner in the Arab world and 3rd largest globally

Connection to this news: The diplomatic engagement provides an opportunity to review CEPA implementation, address any non-tariff barriers, and accelerate the trajectory toward the $200 billion trade target, especially in the context of energy supply disruptions affecting India's import basket.

India-UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership

India and the UAE elevated bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2017, the highest tier of diplomatic relationship India offers. The relationship spans trade, energy, defence, technology, space, digital payments (UPI interoperability), and diaspora management — with approximately 3.5 million Indian nationals forming the largest expatriate community in the UAE. The January 2026 UAE presidential visit to India deepened the partnership across six domains: investment, energy, defence, space, technology, and infrastructure (Dholera Special Investment Region).

Comprehensive Strategic Partnership since 2017
Indian diaspora in UAE: approximately 3.5 million (largest expat community in UAE)
UAE is among the top remittance destinations for Indian workers — remittances from UAE to India are in the top 3 corridors
UPI-RuPay interoperability live in UAE since 2023
January 2026: 10-year LNG deal (5 MMT/year from 2028); Letter of Intent for Strategic Defence Partnership; UAE-Dholera airport and MRO facility partnership
Space and supercomputing: agreement for a supercomputing cluster in India and joint space commercialisation initiative

Connection to this news: The transit stopover, even at three hours, signals the density and institutionalisation of the India-UAE relationship — routine diplomatic maintenance of a comprehensive strategic partnership rather than a one-off visit.

India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC)

IMEC is a multi-country infrastructure and connectivity initiative announced at the G20 New Delhi Summit in September 2023, envisioned as an alternative trade route linking India to Europe via the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, and Greece. It comprises a shipping lane from India to the Gulf and a rail corridor from the Gulf to Europe, with plans for electricity cables, hydrogen pipelines, and data cables alongside the physical transport route. IMEC is strategically significant as a counterweight to China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and as a potential diversification of global trade routes away from the Suez Canal.

Announced: G20 New Delhi Summit, September 9, 2023
Participating entities: India, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, EU (Italy, France, Germany), United States
Divided into Eastern Corridor (India to Gulf) and Northern Corridor (Gulf to Europe)
Includes: shipping lanes, rail links, hydrogen pipelines, undersea electricity cables, data/telecom cables
Strategic purpose: diversify trade routes, counter BRI, reduce Suez Canal dependence
UAE is a critical node — port connectivity at Abu Dhabi and Dubai is central to the Eastern Corridor

Connection to this news: The India-UAE diplomatic engagement is partly shaped by IMEC momentum — both nations are anchor partners in the Eastern Corridor, and bilateral infrastructure and energy discussions directly affect IMEC operationalization.

India-Nordic Relations and European Diplomacy

The India-Nordic Summit is a multilateral diplomatic format that brings India together with the five Nordic nations (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland) to discuss trade, technology, climate, and maritime cooperation. The third edition was originally scheduled for May 2025 but was postponed due to regional developments. The European tour accompanying the UAE stopover reflects India's broader strategy of deepening ties with both Gulf and European partners simultaneously — a multi-vector foreign policy approach. India and the EU are also negotiating a Free Trade Agreement (India-EU FTA), making bilateral engagements with EU member states (Italy, Netherlands) diplomatically significant.

Third India-Nordic Summit: Norway, May 2026 (postponed from 2025)
India-EU FTA negotiations: ongoing as of 2026
India-Netherlands: partnerships in water management, horticulture, digital economy
Italy-India: MoU on defence, cultural exchanges, and Italy's role in IMEC's European leg
Energy security: India's LNG imports from Qatar and UAE are critical; Strait of Hormuz tensions directly affect supply security

Connection to this news: The European leg of the diplomatic tour leverages the UAE stopover into a multi-destination outreach, reflecting India's practice of consolidating diplomatic engagements into regional clusters to maximise foreign policy bandwidth.

Key Facts & Data

India-UAE CEPA: signed February 18, 2022; effective May 1, 2022 — India's first CEPA with a Gulf country
Bilateral trade: $100 billion crossed in FY 2024-25; target $200 billion by 2032
UAE eliminated duties on 97.4% of tariff lines (99% of imports from India by value)
Indian diaspora in UAE: approximately 3.5 million — the UAE's largest expatriate community
10-year LNG supply agreement signed January 2026: 5 MMT/year from 2028
IMEC announced at G20 New Delhi Summit, September 9, 2023
India-UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership elevated in 2017
UAE is India's 3rd largest global trading partner and largest in the Arab world
India-Nordic Summit (3rd edition): Norway, May 2026
India-EU FTA: negotiations ongoing as of 2026