Dubai Crown Prince’s India visit to strengthen UAE-India relations

Dubai Crown Prince’s First Official India Visit Aims to Strengthen Bilateral and Economic Cooperation

New Delhi, April 2025:
At the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum — the Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Defence of the UAE — will be on an official visit to India from April 8 to 9, 2025. This is his first trip to India in his current position and represents a significant diplomatic turning point in the growing India-UAE partnership.

Sheikh Hamdan’s visit, which was accompanied by high-profile business representatives and senior government officials, is indicative of the two countries’ increasing strategic convergence. Enhancing bilateral cooperation in important areas like as trade, infrastructure, technology, innovation, defense, and sustainability is the goal of the tour.

During his time in New Delhi, Prime Minister Modi will host a working lunch for the Crown Prince on April 8, offering a key platform for high-level dialogue and collaboration. To further emphasize the partnership’s multifaceted nature, Sheikh Hamdan is also expected to meet with Rajnath Singh, the minister of defense, and Dr. S. Jaishankar, the minister of external affairs.

Sheikh Hamdan will go to Mumbai after his activities in the capital, where he will participate in a business roundtable from April 8 to 9. In addition to the usual industries such as infrastructure and logistics, the event will bring together leading Indian and Emirati business leaders to discuss emerging investment opportunities in financial technology, clean energy and sustainable urban development.

The Crown Prince’s visit comes at a time when India-UAE relations are witnessing unprecedented growth, particularly following the signing of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). In this relationship, Dubai is particularly important as it serves as a bridge between cultures and a business hub. The Indian diaspora, numbering over 4.3 million, is the largest expatriate community in the UAE and serves as the foundation for these personal ties.

Since Prime Minister Modi’s historic 2015 visit to the UAE, the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister in over three decades, the two countries have continued to seek to strengthen their cooperation in the political, economic and cultural spheres. Sheikh Hamdan’s visit to India further demonstrates the shared commitment to advancing our partnership to a new level of innovation, expansion, and international cooperation.