India-UAE ties on the up thanks to Narendra Modi and Mohamed Bin Zayed

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during his West Asia trip. Modi, who will be in the UAE on 10 and 11 February, is slated to address the sixth World Government Summit in Dubai. This will be Modi’s second UAE trip — the first was in August 2015, when Modi became the first Indian leader to visit the UAE in 34 years. The trip is seen as the government attempting to further bilateral ties with the oil-rich nation. security and economic ties between the two nations have deepened since Modi’s 2015 visit and since India reciprocated by inviting many Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders to the 2017 Republic Day parade, including  Abu Dhabi crown prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who was the chief guest and who Modi broke all protocol to greet at the airport. Indeed, India and the UAE used the afterglow of both visits to sign a slew of bilateral agreements.