This article covers the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Comprehensive and Strategic partnership, visits by leaders and ministers in both directions, and the two countries' cooperation in multilateral and plurilateral groupings. It is based on the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) brief of April 2026.

Establishment of relations

According to the MEA brief of April 2026, India and the United Arab Emirates established diplomatic relations in 1972, the year after the emergence of the UAE as a unified entity in 1971.

The Comprehensive and Strategic partnership

The brief describes the bilateral relations as traditionally strong. It states that they gained a new momentum when Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi visited the UAE in 2015, the first visit by a Prime Minister of India in 34 years. According to the brief, this visit marked the beginning of a new Comprehensive and Strategic partnership between the two countries.

The 2015 visit was followed by six other visits by the Prime Minister in the last 8 years, the most recent of them, as recorded in the brief, in February 2024. On that visit the Prime Minister addressed the Indian community at a community event in Abu Dhabi, the first time he had done so in Abu Dhabi.

He also inaugurated the BAPS Hindu Mandir in Abu Dhabi during the February 2024 visit. The brief describes it as the first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi and the first in the Middle East, and states that it will further deepen people-to-people ties between the two countries.

Prime Minister Modi paid a further official visit to the UAE on 15 May 2026, during which the two sides signed a Framework for the Strategic Defence Partnership.

Visits from the UAE

The brief records multiple high-level visits from the UAE:

  • 2016 and 2017: President HH Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed (MBZ) visited India as Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
  • September 2023: HH Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed visited India as the President of the UAE to attend the G20 Leaders' Summit.
  • November 2023: President MBZ participated in the 2nd Virtual Global South Summit.
  • January 2024: President MBZ visited Gujarat to attend the 10th edition of the state's global summit as the Chief Guest.
  • September 2024: the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, HH Sheikh Khaled Bin Zayed, visited India on the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
  • April 2025: the Crown Prince of Dubai and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the UAE, HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, visited India.
  • 19 January 2026: President MBZ visited New Delhi along with senior Ministers and royal family members and held discussions with the Prime Minister.
  • February 2026: a visit by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, HH Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is recorded in an MEA press release of 7 May 2026.

In February 2022, President MBZ and the Prime Minister held a virtual summit, during which they launched a Joint Commemorative Stamp issued by the Emirates Post and India Post. The stamp marked 75 years of India's Independence, 50 years of the formation of the UAE and 50 years of India-UAE diplomatic relations.

Ministerial visits and the Joint Commission

The brief states that regular ministerial visits from India to the UAE have complemented these high-level visits, including visits by External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and other Ministers. There have likewise been multiple visits from the UAE to India, including by the UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed.

The 14th Joint Commission Meeting between the two countries took place on 01 September 2022. The 16th India-UAE Joint Commission Meeting and 5th Strategic Dialogue were held in December 2025, according to the joint statement of 19 January 2026.

Multilateral and plurilateral cooperation

The brief states that India and the UAE enjoy strong cooperation at the United Nations. Both countries are currently part of several plurilateral platforms, including:

  • IMEEC
  • BRICS
  • I2U2 (India-Israel-UAE-USA)
  • the UFI (UAE-France-India) Trilateral

The UAE was invited as a Guest Country to the G-20 Summit held under India's Presidency.