UAE, India agree on formalizing defense pact, $200B trade deal: What to know

The United Arab Emirates and India signed a letter of intent on Monday to work toward a Strategic Defense Partnership, which would mark a major boost in the already strong relations between the two countries.

What happened: The letter of intent was signed during a two-hour visit by UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to New Delhi, during which he held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on bilateral relations and ways to enhance cooperation in fields including energy, trade and technology, according to the official Emirati news agency, WAM.

The letter paves the way for the two countries to eventually sign a framework agreement that would further deepen bilateral cooperation in the defense field.

Why it matters: Defense ties between the UAE and India have strengthened recently, marked by Indian Army Chief Gen. Upendra Dwivedi’s official visit to Abu Dhabi earlier this month, with the aim to deepen military cooperation and strategic dialogue.

In December 2025, the two countries’ armies took part in joint military exercises in the Emirati capital.

Speaking to reporters following the visit on Monday, India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri stressed that the letter of intent does not imply India’s involvement in regional conflicts. “Our involvement on the defense and security front with a country from the region does not necessarily lead to the conclusion that we will get involved in particular ways in the conflicts of the region,” he said.

The signing comes just months after Saudi Arabia and Pakistan — India’s regional rival — signed a Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement last September, which declared that “any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both.”

Additionally, relations between the UAE and Saudi Arabia have faltered in recent weeks over advances by Emirati-backed southern separatists in Hadramout, Yemen, against forces loyal to the Saudi-backed government, despite the two countries being allies in their fight against the Houthi rebels.

Both Pakistan and India are nuclear-armed countries. 

Know more: Sheikh Mohamed and Modi also witnessed on Monday the signing of a $3 billion agreement under which ADNOC Gas — a division of the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) — will supply 0.5 million metric tons of LNG a year to India's Hindustan Petroleum for a period of 10 years. 

With this agreement, India is now the UAE’s top LNG customer, according to WAM. ADNOC has already concluded a series of contracts with Indian companies in the past worth around $20 billion.

During their talks, the two leaders praised the UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, signed in February 2022, under which non-oil bilateral trade reached $100 billion in the fiscal year 2024-2025. According to a statement from the Indian prime minister’s office, the pair agreed to double trade to $200 billion by 2032.

Relations between the UAE and India have witnessed steady growth in the past few years. In 2023-2024, the UAE was the sixth largest foreign direct investor in India, with investments estimated to be around $20 billion to $21 billion, according to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.

The UAE is also India’s second-largest export destination, with exports reaching $37 billion in 2024-2025, while imports from India to the UAE amounted to about $63 billion during the same period.

Monday’s visit is Sheikh Mohamed’s third to India since he became president in 2022.

For his part, Modi has paid over eight visits to the oil-rich Gulf country since 2015, the last of which was in February 2024, during which eight bilateral agreements were signed.