Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the UAE: Advancing India’s Energy and Strategic Interests

By Dr. Afroz Khan 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on 15 May 2026, the first stop on his five-nation tour. This was Prime Minister’s eighth visit to the UAE since 2014 and his first since the outbreak of the US-Iran conflict. During the visit, Prime Minister Modi met UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, whom he has often referred to as a “brother and friend.” President Al Nahyan is regarded as one of Modi’s closest international partners, and their strong personal rapport has helped elevate India-UAE ties to a comprehensive strategic and economic partnership. The UAE is India’s third-largest trading partner, while India ranks as the UAE’s second-largest trading partner after China. The visit comes at a time when West Asia is experiencing one of the most volatile periods in decades. The US-Iran conflict and uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz have shaken global energy markets. India, which is heavily dependent on the region for its energy needs, has been severely affected by the conflict.

India is the world’s third-largest importer of crude oil, with 45% of its imports sourced from West Asia. It is also the fourth-largest importer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), with around 60% of imports coming from the region. Additionally, India is the second-largest consumer of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), with nearly 90% of its supply coming from the same region. The UAE is India’s fifth-largest fuel import source, accounting for about 6 per cent of total national crude imports, and the third-largest source of LPG and petroleum products. UAE accounts for a tenth of India’s overall oil imports. Much of this supply has been severely affected by disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz. The unprecedented surge in the energy market in over the past few decades has caused major challenges for India, putting pressure on the  current account deficit (CAD) and exchange rate. The impact is most visible in the Indian currency, which has hit record lows against the US dollar over the past year.  Furthermore, disruptions in fertilizer supplies have also posed a significant threat to food security across the globe, including in India, which is the world’s second largest consumer of fertiliser after China.

Why is this visit significant?

When the conflict started in the region, India initially adopted a policy of “wait and watch”  due to the uncertainty surrounding the rapidly unfolding events. However, the Iranian attacks on the Gulf Arab states heightened India’s concern and directly threatened its interests because of the damage to the critical infrastructure and loss of Indian lives.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the UAE was largely shaped by these considerations. The visit aimed to secure India’s long-term energy supplies, diversify its energy mix, strengthen strategic reserves, and deepen partnerships to safeguard against future energy volatility. During the visit, Modi reiterated India’s commitment to a peaceful region and said India was ready to contribute and extend all possible support to restore peace.

During this visit, India and the UAE signed key agreements on strategic defence cooperation, petroleum reserves and LPG supplies. The strategic defence partnership enables deeper collaboration in defence manufacturing, innovation and advanced technology, training and joint exercises, maritime security, cyber defence, secure communications, and information sharing. Prime Minister Modi also reaffirmed India’s strong support for the UAE during talks with President Al Nahyan, stressing that New Delhi stands “shoulder-to-shoulder” with Abu Dhabi amid growing regional instability in West Asia. Both leaders acknowledged the success of the India–UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which has significantly strengthened bilateral trade.

A landmark Strategic Collaboration Agreement was also signed between the Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited (ISPRL) and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), establishing a comprehensive framework for strategic petroleum reserves (SPR) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) cooperation. This agreement outlines a sophisticated, two-way energy partnership designed to bolster the energy security of both the countries through a distributed reserve architecture.  Under this arrangement, ADNOC plans to expand its physical presence in India by storing up to 30 million barrels of crude oil across Indian facilities. Although the UAE will retain commercial ownership of the oil for market sale, India will secure crucial “first rights” to access the crude during supply disruptions or emergencies. Simultaneously, the agreement explores storing Indian strategic crude reserve offshore at the UAE’s Fujairah facility. Located on the eastern coast of the UAE along the Gulf of Oman, Fujairah bypasses the volatile Strait of Hormuz entirely, thereby reducing the impact of future geopolitical disruptions on India’s energy supplies and supply chains. ADNOC also said it would explore expanded LPG supply and trading opportunities with Indian Oil Corp.

The two countries also agreed to invest $5 billion in India. This includes a $3 billion investment by Emirates NBD in RBL Bank, a $1 billion investment by Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) with the National Infrastructure and Investment Fund (NIIF) in priority infrastructure projects in India, and a further $1 billion investment by International Holding Company (IHC) in Sammaan Investment.

Conclusion

Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the UAE underscores a critical pivot in India’s foreign policy amid volatile conflicts in West Asia. The US-Iran friction has not only disrupted global energy supplies but has also exposed deep regional fault lines, making the power struggle between Saudi Arabia and the UAE more visible. Furthermore, Saudi Arabia recently signed a Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA) with Pakistan, with the potential addition of Türkiye and Qatar.

India cannot afford to remain aloof from these significant strategic alignments. To protect its interests, New Delhi must proactively engage with all regional players. The UAE, alongside Israel, is one of the strongest and most stable pillars of India’s regional outreach, and active engagement secures India’s strategic and economic interests. However, this does not mean India should rely entirely on these friendly nations. Instead, as an emerging economic power, it must safeguard and prioritise its own interests without getting entangled in regional tussles. India should engage all parties through bilateral and multilateral forums while remaining strictly non-partisan. India’s recent diplomatic manoeuvres, including National Security Adviser Ajit Doval’s high-level talks in Saudi Arabia and Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri’s strategic visit to Qatar, indicate that this multi-aligned outreach is already well underway.

(Dr Afroz Khan holds a PhD degree in West Asia from Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi. Earlier he was a Researcher at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses)

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