UAE's MBZ in India, meets Modi as Houthis' maritime threat expands

United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ) visited India on Tuesday, leading to new cooperation agreements between the two countries and following Houthi maritime attacks that are increasingly disrupting Gulf waters and encroaching on India's coast. 

MBZ flew into Ahmedabad in northwestern India’s Gujarat province, where he was received by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two then held discussions on bilateral relations, and the president attended the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit. MBZ was accompanied by a delegation of diplomatic, investment and trade officials, according to the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The following memorandums of understanding were signed during MBZ’s visit, according to a post on X by India's External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal:

• The UAE Investment Ministry signed a memorandum with India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy on investment cooperation in the renewable energy sector.
• The UAE Investment Ministry signed a memorandum with India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on investment cooperation in innovative health care projects.
• The UAE Investment Ministry signed a memorandum with India’s Ministry of Food Processing Industries on investment cooperation concerning food park development. Food parks refer to industrial food processing centers.
• The Emirati logistics firm DP World signed a memorandum with the Gujarat provincial government on creating sustainable and green ports.

The meeting was the fourth in less than seven months between MBZ and Modi, according to Jaiswal. MBZ and Modi previously met in Abu Dhabi in July.

Why it matters: Relations between the UAE and India have strengthened considerably in recent years. India and the UAE signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement in 2022. The agreement is essentially a free trade deal that reduces tariffs between the two countries.

Trade between India and the UAE amounted to $85 billion in 2022. India is the UAE’s second-largest trading partner, and the UAE is India’s third-largest trading partner, according to a July 2023 release from the Indian government.

Bilateral cooperation strengthened further in 2023. In August, the UAE and India settled an oil transaction in rupees for the first time. India and the UAE announced the creation of the I2U2 business coalition along with the United States and Israel last April, and in March, the Indian and Emirati central banks signed a memorandum of understanding on financial innovation cooperation.

The UAE, India, the United States, Saudi Arabia and several European states also announced the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor (IMEC) in September, a transit corridor aimed at competing with China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Mohammed Soliman, director at the Middle East Institute, said that MBZ’s visit builds on recent UAE-India cooperation.

“While the timing of President bin Zayed's visit to India coincides with the recent Israeli military campaign in Gaza, it shouldn't be solely interpreted through that lens,” Soliman, who has been involved in conceptualizing I2U2 and IMEC, told Al-Monitor. “Instead, it serves to underscore the ongoing momentum and resilience of several minilateral formats involving India, Israel and the UAE, such as the I2U2 and the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor.”

MBZ's visit also comes amid attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen on commercial ships in the Red Sea in response to the Gaza war. Several global shipping firms are avoiding traversing the sea as a result. 

On Dec. 23, 2023, the US Defense Department said a tanker off the coast of India was struck by a drone from Iran. Tehran denied the claim, but the MV Chem Pluto, a Japanese-owned tanker traveling roughly 370 kilometers (200 miles) off the coast of India, was targeted by Iran, the Pentagon said. 

The tanker was “Israel-affiliated” and had been on its way from Saudi Arabia to India, reported British maritime security firm Ambrey.

Soliman said that the UAE views India as a security partner in addition to an economic one. 

“The UAE sees India as a key ally in combating regional threats, as evidenced by joint exercises and intelligence sharing,” he said. 

The UAE and India are currently holding a joint military exercise in Mahajan near the Pakistani border.

Know more: MBZ visited Azerbaijan on Monday, bringing with him a delegation of energy and investment officials.