NEW DELHI, INDIA – JANUARY 19: (—-EDITORIAL USE ONLY – REQUIRED CREDIT – âPRESS-BUREAU/ DISTRIBUTION’ – NOT MARKETING ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN – Indian Prime Minister Narend- ASTO- SLIBUTENTS- SLIBUTITY) Modi on January 19, 2026 in New Delhi (India) welcomed the President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
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India said plans Increasing bilateral trade with the UAE to $200 billion by 2032 is a move to diversify partnerships with the Asian country’s largest trading partner, the United States.
During a three-hour meeting between UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Monday evening, the two countries’ state-owned companies signed a 10-year deal to supply liquefied natural gas.
According to the agreement, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company will be owned by the Abu Dhabi government provide LNG of up to $3 billion for a period of 10 years from 2028 to an Indian public entity Hindustan Petroleum Corporation.
With this agreement, India now belongs to the UAE the biggest In ADNOC’s release, LNG customer by 2029 and will account for 20% of sales.
Both countries “discussed a wide range of issues going forward.” strengthening multifaceted India-UAE friendship,” PM Modi said on Channel X.
Harsh Pant, vice president of research and foreign policy at the Observer Research Foundation, a New Delhi-based think tank, told CNBC’s Inside India program, “In terms of the outcome, it was a productive visit.”
He added that India-UAE ties have developed to a level where “regular high-level interactions are common in a relatively short period of time”.
India-UAE trade to reach $100 billion in FY2025. Both countries signed an agreement on comprehensive economic cooperation in 2022.
India is the second largest trading partner in the Middle East. accounting According to an initiative backed by India’s commerce ministry, it will account for about 9% of its total trade and 14% of its non-oil exports by September 2025.
The UAE was India’s third largest trading partner in FY2025 after the US and China and is home to 3.5 million Indian expatriates.
Diversification Allies
India’s plan to expand trade with the UAE comes at a time when the country’s exports to the US have declined. pressure Due to Washington’s 50% tariff on Indian goods since August last year.
“Even with a trade deal (with the US), there is no guarantee that President Trump’s ‘unpredictability’ will end,” Pant said, adding that this is the reason why India is seeking to finalize trade deals with other countries.
After the US tariffs last year, India entered into trade pacts with the UK and Oman and said it will sign an agreement with New Zealand in the first half of 2026.