Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to leave for a four-nation tour of Europe from May 15 to 20. The visit will see discussions on trade, security cooperation and ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia.
PM Modi is expected to make a brief stopover in the UAE during his European tour, according to reports.
PM Modi will visit Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Italy during the trip. The third Indo-Nordic Summit in Oslo on May 15, which will bring together the leaders of India, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland, is the main program of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s European tour.
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The stopover in the UAE, according to multiple media reports, is seen as an opportunity for India to boost energy supplies from the UAE and discuss the welfare of the four million-strong diaspora in the Emirates. The stopover could be either at the beginning or end of his European itinerary, according to media reports.
During the crisis arising from the US-Iran war and its impact on the movement of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, India reached out to key West Asian energy suppliers. The UAE is India’s fifth largest source of fuel, accounting for nearly 6 percent of total oil imports and the third largest source of LPG and petroleum products.
Minister of Foreign Affairs With Jaishankar he recently traveled to the UAE while Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri was in Qatar. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval also visited Saudi Arabia to take stock of the regional situation and strengthen India’s energy security.
PM Modi’s visit to the Emirates comes months after the President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan he visited India for two to three hours in January.
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Sheikh Nahyan’s visit to India comes amid a volatile situation in the Middle East resulting from a sharp downturn Iran-US relationssimmering tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over Yemen and the disturbing political scenario in Gaza.
In the middle of the US-Iran war
This time, the UAE is at the center of the ongoing US-Iran war and has witnessed more than 2,500 missile and drone strikes, more than what Israel has faced from Tehran. Earlier this week, the UAE also pulled out of OPEC and OPEC+ over differences with Iran and Saudi Arabia.
In the UAE stopover, the prime minister is expected to review bilateral relations during a meeting with President Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan. PM Modi is also scheduled to discuss the upcoming BRICS Summit which will be hosted by India in September. The United Arab Emirates is among the countries to join Brics when it expands in 2024.
In July 2023, Prime Minister Modi made a similar brief visit to the UAE after being the guest of honor at France’s Bastille Day parade.
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India-Nordic Summit
Green growth, sustainable development, maritime cooperation (Sagarmala project), artificial intelligence management and semiconductor supply chains are expected to be discussed at the India-Nordic Summit.
The summit is also expected to address the lingering effects of the Russia-Ukraine war on Nordic security and West Asian volatility on energy supplies.
The Indo-Nordic Summit was scheduled to take place in mid-May 2025, but was canceled following the Indo-Pakistani military confrontation during Operation Sindoor between 7 and 10 May. The governments of India and the Nordic countries – which include Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Iceland – have been in talks to schedule Modi’s visit since early this year.
