On the New Foreign Tour of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi

The head of the Indian government paid visits to five countries – the UAE, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, and Italy – between 15 and 20 May.

India signed a set of agreements worth $5 billion with the UAE during N. Modi’s visit

The Prime Minister marked the onset of his foreign tour by visiting Abu Dhabi, where he discussed with the UAE leadership ways to strengthen trade, investment, defence and technological cooperation. Despite the brevity of the stay, the talks resulted in signing a substantial package of agreements, upgrading the bilateral relations to the level of a strategic partnership. The arrangements reached and contracts concluded primarily concerned long‑term oil and liquefied gas supplies to India and the expansion of the country’s strategic fuel reserves.

India currently ranks third in the world in terms of energy purchases, and the Emirates, together with Russia and Iraq, are key, reliable suppliers of crude oil and gas to India. This tilt towards Abu Dhabi is due to the fact that after the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, New Delhi faced a serious fuel shortage because of restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and American bans on Russian oil supplies. In order to diversify energy purchases and ensure stable fuel supplies, India placed its bet on the UAE – a significant trading partner and investor, where, on a related note, 4.5 million Indians live and work. Bilateral trade turnover is approaching $100 billion, and the Emirates are among India’s top three trading partners. During the visit, an agreement was also signed on UAE investments in Indian infrastructure projects worth a total of $5 billion. Politically, too, New Delhi reiterated its support for Abu Dhabi by condemning Iran’s recent attacks on the UAE. In short, the trip to that country was productive for India, which secured additional supplies of much‑needed energy resources.

New Delhi intends to reach a new level of cooperation with the Nordic countries

The tour of the Scandinavian countries was timed to coincide with the third India‑Nordic Summit in Oslo on 19 May, which participants regard as an important platform for further rapprochement with India.

On 15–16 May, Modi visited the Netherlands, with which India enjoys advanced trade and investment ties. It is enough to say that........

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