New Delhi, Sep 8: The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, arrived in New Delhi on his first official visit to India at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Sunday.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal received the visiting dignitary at the airport and accorded a ceremonial welcome.

This is Zayed Al Nahyan's first visit to India as the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and he is accompanied by several Ministers from the UAE government and a business delegation.

The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 9 and hold discussions on a wide range of areas of bilateral cooperation.

He is also scheduled to call on President Droupadi Murmu and will visit Rajghat to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi.

On September 10, the visiting Crown Prince will visit Mumbai to participate in a business forum, in which business leaders from both countries will participate.

"India and UAE share historically close and friendly ties. In recent years, the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between India and UAE has deepened in a wide range of areas including political, trade, investment, connectivity, energy, technology, education, and culture. The Crown Prince's visit will further reinforce strong India-UAE bilateral relations and open avenues for partnership in new and emerging areas," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated, earlier this week.

In January, UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited India and explored ways to further build upon the strategic partnership between the two countries during his discussions with PM Modi. He also attended the 10th edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit.

In July 2023, PM Modi visited the UAE - his fifth visit to the country since 2015 when he became the first Prime Minister of India to visit the UAE in 34 years.

The India-UAE relationship was formally elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during the visit of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to India in 2017.

According to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), India-UAE trade rose to USD 85 billion in 2022, making the UAE India's third-largest trading partner for the year 2022-23 and India's second-largest export destination. India is the UAE's second largest trading partner.

--IANS

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