Modi Meets UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Signs Defence and Energy Pacts

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on Friday, as India condemned attacks on the United Arab Emirates during the Iran war and the two sides signed pacts on defence, petroleum reserves and supply of liquefied petroleum gas.

“The United Arab Emirates and India have signed pacts on defence, energy and shipping during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the Gulf state on Friday, as both countries seek to deepen their relationship amid heightened tensions between Abu Dhabi and Tehran”

Al Jazeera

The agreements were exchanged during the meeting in Abu Dhabi, where Modi said the UAE’s handling of the situation showed “restraint” and “courage,” and the visit was described as the first leg of a five-nation tour that also includes the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Italy.

Al Jazeera

The UAE’s air force escorted Modi’s plane with F-16s as it entered the Gulf country’s airspace, and WAM reported that “The squadron leader requested permission to escort the aircraft to the airport in a gesture of welcome.”

The pacts included a framework agreement on a Strategic Defence Partnership, an MoU on strategic petroleum reserves, an LPG supply agreement, and a ship repair cluster project at Vadinar, with the UAE announcing investments worth $5 billion in Indian infrastructure and in RBL Bank and Samman Capital.

The Sunday Guardian said the agreements were inked during Modi’s visit to the UAE on May 15, and it framed the timing around the energy crisis linked to the war in Iran and disruptions tied to the Strait of Hormuz.

Al Jazeera reported that the strategic defence partnership included “defence industrial collaboration and cooperation on innovation and advanced technology, training, exercises, maritime security, cyber defence, secure communications and information exchange,” and it said a key area of agreement was strategic petroleum reserves and the supply of LNG.

The pact language cited by Al Jazeera included “potential storage of crude oil in Fujairah, UAE, to form part of the Indian strategic petroleum reserve,” linking the defence and energy agreements to shipping and storage arrangements.

Hindustan Times

The Wire.in said the MoUs signed during Modi’s brief trip to Abu Dhabi on Friday (May 15) included a memorandum where ADNOC would “potentially” store up to 30 million barrels of crude in India’s strategic petroleum reserves, including by setting up facilities in Fujairah.

The Wire.in also said the two sides finalised a framework for a strategic defence partnership spanning defence industrial collaboration, innovation and advanced technologies, training and joint exercises, maritime security and cyber defence, and it described the visit as Modi’s first to West Asia after US-Israeli strikes on Iran triggered the ongoing war and disrupted Indian energy supplies.

Hindustan Times said the LPG supply deal and an MoU on strategic petroleum reserves were signed during Modi’s short visit, and it added that the framework for the strategic defence partnership came alongside an MoU on setting up a ship repair cluster in Gujarat’s Vadinar.

NDTV reported that Modi’s UAE trip coincided with a fuel price hike and that India and the UAE signed MoUs on LPG and strategic petroleum reserves, along with a framework for a bilateral strategic defence partnership and an investment to the tune of $5 billion in Indian infrastructure and RBL Bank and Samman Capital.

“India, UAE sign pacts on LPG, strategic oil reserves to cushion US-Iran war impact The LPG supply deal was signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's short visit to the UAE on Friday”

Hindustan Times

Hindustan Times said petrol and diesel prices in India were raised by ₹3 each on Friday, May 15, and it reported that the hike came just hours after the LPG and strategic oil reserve pacts were signed during Modi’s short stopover in Abu Dhabi.

Kashmir Reader said Modi landed in the UAE on Friday and received a guard of honour after arrival in Abu Dhabi, and it described the visit as underscoring the growing strategic and economic importance of India-UAE ties for New Delhi’s energy security and investment priorities.

Al Jazeera said there are around 4.3 million Indians living or working in the UAE, and it linked the agreements to heightened tensions between Abu Dhabi and Tehran after the UAE accused Iran of targeting Fujairah with drones and missiles and injuring three Indian workers.

The Sunday Guardian added that the pacts were signed amid the energy crisis due to the war in Iran and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, where it said a fifth of the world’s oil and LNG supply passes, as India sought to stabilise energy supply chains.