The Minister of External Affairs of India, S. Jaishankar, hailed the impact of the Gulf economy on the global landscape, while addressing a gathering at the launch of Symbiosis International University Dubai.

Highlighting that there were more than a 100 Indian curriculum schools in the UAE, the minister said the inauguration of the campus would enable Symbiosis International University to set a new benchmark in the education sector.

Referring to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the UAE in 2015, Jaishankar said that India-UAE ties were at present “in an era of new milestones”, as were the Comprehensive Economic Partnerships (CEPA). He stressed that the trade and investment levels between both the countries were at “new levels and increasing with each passing year”.

He said, “There are approximately nine million Indians living in the Gulf. If you look at our top 20 trading partners, I would say most of the Gulf economies one way or the other feature in those top 20.” Besides education and trade, Jaishankar emphasised how the energy sector in particular has transformed the Gulf’s role universally, establishing it as a cornerstone in line with the UAE’s significant strides in innovation.

He added, “If you are looking at trade, energy, employment, mobility, in every metric, this region is becoming more and more crucial and it is also acquiring a political route which I think is very important for resolving global differences… If I were to look at the foreign policies over the last few decades across the world, to me the relationship with the UAE is one of the relationships that has changed most dramatically for the better.” – editor@nrifocus.com