New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, January 19, received United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the Delhi airport, signalling the importance India attached to his visit.

Al Nahyan will be in the national capital for less than two hours, according to his schedule released by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

His visit to India comes amid a volatile situation in the Middle East arising out of the sharp decline in Iran-US ties, simmering tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over Yemen and the unsettling political scenario in Gaza.

Al Nahyan and Modi will hold wide-ranging talks shortly.

People familiar with the UAE president’s visit said trade and investment, defence industry cooperation and energy initiatives are expected to be on the agenda of his talks with the Indian leadership.

The situation in the Middle East is also likely to figure in the talks, they said.

It will be the UAE leader’s third official visit to India since assuming the charge of the top office and the fifth to the country over the past decade.

There has been a significant upswing in bilateral trade and people-to-people ties after New Delhi and Abu Dhabi inked an ambitious comprehensive economic partnership agreement in 2022.