Narendra Modi landed in Abu Dhabi on Saturday in his second trip to the Gulf country since he became the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister held talks on various with the Crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as the two countries signed five agreements related to various sectors.
Delighted to meet my friend, HH Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. We had extensive deliberations on boosting India-UAE cooperation and how this can benefit our nations as well as the whole world. @MohamedBinZayed pic.twitter.com/phFvXtgYkT
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 10, 2018
The most significant among them was the historic pact between the Indian Consortium (OVL, BPRL & IOCL) and ADNOC which awards the consortium of Indian oil companies a 10% stake in offshore oil concession. “The concession will be for 40 years from 2018 to 2057, 60 % of the participating interest will be retained by ADNOC and remaining 30 % will be awarded to other International oil companies. This is the first Indian Investment in the upstream oil sector of UAE, transforming the traditional buyer-seller relationship to a long-term investor relationship,” a statement on Narendra Modi’s official website said.
Speaking on the agreement, the Prime Minister said, “The offshore concession in favour of the Indian consortium has taken our bilateral engagement in the oil and gas sector to a new level, which befits the comprehensive strategic partnership between our two countries.” Other MoUs were signed and exchanged related to the energy sector, manpower, rail and the financial services.
The Prime Minister also launched the foundation stone laying ceremony of the first Hindu stone Temple in Abu Dhabi. During the event, Narendra Modi said, “I believe this temple will not be only unique in terms of architecture and splendour, but will also give a message of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ to people across the world.”
PM @narendramodi witnessed laying of foundation stone for the BAPS Swaminarayan temple on Abu Dhabi – Dubai highway! The first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi being built on a generous gift of land by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi reflects UAE’s commitment to tolerance and harmony. pic.twitter.com/3vDOBp3RmG
— Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) February 11, 2018
The Temple will be built by Indian Temple artisans and will come up on a 55,000 square meters of land. The Temple is expected to be completed by 2020 and will be open to people from all religious denominations. The organization charged with the responsibility of the construction of the Temple has also built the Akshardham Temple at New Delhi and the Temple at Abu Dhabi will seek to replicate the one in Delhi.
