UAE envoy said that they want to use the event to celebrate the values shared between New Delhi and Abu Dhabi in terms of peace, harmony and brotherhood….reports Asian Lite News
UAE Ambassador to India, Abdulnasser Jamal Alshaali, hosted a ‘Ramadan Iftar’ event at the UAE Embassy in the national capital on Thursday.
Hailing India-UAE ties, the envoy said that they want to use the event to celebrate the values shared between New Delhi and Abu Dhabi in terms of peace, harmony and brotherhood.
Speaking to ANI, the UAE envoy said, “We want this to remain a key event on everyone’s calendar in the diplomatic community and beyond. I feel very happy that other missions are organising their own Iftaars, inviting people over Ramadan…we want to make sure that we make use of the opportunity to celebrate the values that the UAE and India share in terms of peace, harmony and brotherhood.”
The UAE Ambassador appreciated the relationship between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. He further said that the momentum of India-UAE ties is increasing and there still lies room for further improvement.
“A lot of progress has been made in so many fields and sectors, but there’s always more to be done. The relationship (between India and the UAE) and the charisma between the two leaders make sure that there is momentum and that this momentum keeps growing over time. The fact that they keep visiting each other’s country keeps everyone on their toes to strive to do more and better in this relationship,” Alshaali said.
He added, “No matter what you achieve, in any relationship, there is always room for improvement. There’s always room to do things differently. This is why we end up with a long list of homework for both ambassadors and senior officials in both governments.”
Earlier in February, Prime Minister Modi went on an official visit to UAE. He held a bilateral meeting with UAE President al Nahyan and several other top leaders. Several agreements were signed between the two countries.
During the visit, PM Modi also inaugurated BAPS Hindu Mandir in Abu Dhabi, which is the first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi. He also addressed the Indian diaspora at ‘Ahlan Modi’ event.
On the sidelines of his visit, the Ministry of Investment of the UAE and the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology of India had signed a Memorandum of Understanding, setting out a framework for the expansion of bilateral investment cooperation in the digital infrastructure sector, with a special emphasis on data centre projects in India.
The memorandum marks a significant step towards the development of opportunities in digital infrastructure and artificial intelligence between both nations. This reflects the lead taken by the UAE and India in furthering regional and digital connectivity.
The MoU was signed by Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi, Minister of Investment, and Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of India on behalf of the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology of India.
Through the memorandum, both countries will jointly explore, assess and evaluate the technical and investment potential of developing data centre projects in India with an initial capacity of up to 2 gigawatts.
The memorandum will also promote and facilitate investments in Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and aspects related to R&D and Innovation. To support the deployment of a supercomputer cluster in India, both countries will assess the technical and investment potential of developing AI compute capacity of 8 exaflops for use by government, public, private sectors and academia.
The UAE was the fourth-largest investor in India in 2023 and the seventh-largest source of Foreign Direct Investment overall. Meanwhile, India currently holds a position among the top 15 countries globally regarding data centre capacity, boasting a network of 151 data centres spread across its different regions. The country’s internet economy is expected to reach US$1 trillion by 2030, a significant surge from US$175 billion in 2022.
This growth is largely driven by the widespread preference for digital interactions among consumers and merchants in the country, which has a population exceeding one billion. The trajectory is further accelerated by data localisation policies mandating the domestic storage of local data, as well as “Digital India”, an initiative launched by the Government of India to ensure its services are electronically accessible to citizens. The increased data consumption requires enhanced digital infrastructure and a resilient data centre ecosystem.
The memorandum focuses on creating strong and effective collaboration by building relationships between public and private organisations in the UAE and India. It also facilitates knowledge exchange. (with inputs from ANI)
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