ABU DHABI: The Emirates Diplomatic Academy (EDA), the UAE’s leading international relations and diplomatic institution, on Wednesday hosted a panel discussion looking at the close symbolic, substantive and strategic ties between the UAE and India.

The event comes just a few days ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s expected second visit to the UAE for the World Government Summit, widely seen as evidence of an even closer relationship in UAE-India relations in the future.

The panel comprised Navdeep Suri, Indian Ambassador to the UAE; Ahmed Abdullah Al Musalli, Former UAE Ambassador to India; Dr Rahul Sagar, Global Network Associate Professor of Political Science at New York University Abu Dhabi; and Dr N. Janardhan, Senior Research Fellow in the Gulf-Asia Programme at EDA.

Navdeep Suri said: “With Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting the UAE on Feb.10-11, his second in less than three years, growing UAE-India ties will receive further strategic  impetus. Since his visit takes place just more than a year after India hosted Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan as chief guest on Republic Day in Jan.2017, it reflects the special importance the government places on UAE-India ties.”

Commenting on the EDA, he said: “I am delighted to visit the Emirates Diplomatic Academy today to see firsthand the excellent work happening here and to meet some of the students, who are of high calibre. The training they are receiving today will stand them in good stead to continue the important work of UAE diplomats around the world going forward.”

The distinguished panellists discussed how the two allies’ bilateral relations across areas such as energy, cross-border investment, defence and technology have evolved, following agreements signed by the governments of the two nations last year in these fields.

Ahmed Abdullah Al Musalli said: “The UAE and India were at very different stages of development two decades ago, but the process of transformation had begun. And, it was evident even then that UAE-India ties were special and had immense scope to develop. Today it is a multi-faceted and strategic relationship.”

Bernardino León, Director General of EDA, thanked the panel for their insights. He said: “The UAE and India enjoy a very close relationship, one that we are very proud of, and one that we are looking forward to building even further in the coming years. The panel discussion today provided invaluable insight to our students, the UAE’s diplomats of the future, who I know took away lots of useful information from the session.