15th India-UAE Joint Commission Meeting (JCM)

Syllabus: GS2/ International Relations

Context

• External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan co-chaired the 15th India-UAE Joint Commission Meeting (JCM).

About

• The MoU between the Emirates Polar Mission Steering Committee, UAE and the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), India was signed.
  • This agreement paves the way for cooperation in polar operations, research and capacity building.
• Following the inauguration of the IIT-Delhi campus in Abu Dhabi, both sides reviewed progress on establishing overseas campuses of IIM-Ahmedabad and  Indian Institute of Foreign Trade in Dubai.
• Both sides also discussed new technological platforms such as the Virtual Trade Corridor (VTC) and the Maitri Interface, designed to enhance trade efficiency by enabling paperless transactions. 

UAE and India relations 

• Political: India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) established diplomatic relations in 1972.
• Multilateral Cooperation: India and the UAE are currently part of several plurilateral platforms such as I2U2 (India-Israel-UAE-USA) and UFI (UAE-France-India) Trilateral, etc.
  • UAE was also invited as a Guest Country to the G-20 Summit
• Economic & Commercial: India UAE trade is US$ 84.84 billion making UAE, India’s third largest trading partner for the year 2021-22 after China and US.
  • UAE is the second largest export destination of India (after the US) with an amount of nearly US$ 31.61 billion for the year 2022-23.
  • The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) was signed in 2022 as a major step in deepening trade relations.
  • The Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) was signed in 2024 to protect and encourage bilateral investments by providing investor safeguards.

• Defence cooperation: It  is steered through a Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC) at the Ministry level, with the signing of Agreement on Defence Cooperation in 2003, which came into effect in 2004.
  • The Desert Cyclone exercise 2024, marked a milestone in military cooperation.
• Space Cooperation:  Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the UAE Space Agency signed an MoU regarding cooperation in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes in 2016.
• Indian Community: Indian expatriate community of approximately 3.89 million is the largest ethnic community in UAE constituting roughly about 35 percent of the country’s population.

Way Ahead

• Both nations cooperate in the energy sector and are exploring long-term supply agreements, collaboration in upstream and downstream projects and mutual investments in strategic reserves.
• They are also focusing on ways to expand the strategic partnership in areas such as defence, emerging technologies, nuclear energy, polar research, critical minerals and renewable energy.

Concluding remarks

• The India-UAE relationship holds significant potential for growth, driven by both nations’ goals of economic diversification and sustainable development.
• By leveraging each other’s strengths, particularly in emerging sectors like renewable energy, technology, and innovation, they can create a resilient partnership.

Source: FE