New Delhi, May 15 (UNI) India and the UAE held wide-ranging discussions on mechanisms to strengthen coordination and co-operation on Consular issues covering labour, visa, migration, citizenship and extradition and on early conclusion of agreements related to migration and mobility.
This was discussed during the 5th meeting of the Joint Committee on Consular Affairs (JCCA) was held on Tuesday in New Delhi. The Indian side was led by Muktesh Pardeshi, Secretary (CPV & OIA), Ministry of External Affairs, and the UAE delegation was led by Khaled Belhoul, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the UAE.
India and the UAE enjoy warm, close and multi-faceted relationship which is built on the deep bonds of friendship between both sides. The relationship between the two countries, which was elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2017, encompasses all areas of mutual cooperation – political, economic, trade, commerce, defence, cultural, technology and energy, with people-to-people ties forming the bedrock. UAE is currently host to more than 3.5 million Indian citizens, the largest outside India, a statement said.
The two sides held wide-ranging discussions on mechanisms to strengthen coordination and co-operation on Consular issues covering labour, visa, migration, citizenship and extradition, among others. The UAE side gave a detailed briefing on various steps taken by the government to ensure the welfare of the Indian workers in the UAE. Both sides reiterated their commitment to continue to work towards citizen-centric consular mechanisms.
The two sides also discussed other issues of mutual interest including visa facilitation for promoting greater people-to-people exchanges and early conclusion of agreements related to migration and mobility. Outcomes from the meeting also included regular exchange of statistics related to the citizens of each others’ countries and best practices on consular matters.
The two sides agreed to follow-up on the agreed decisions of the meeting and review them at the next Consular Dialogue, which will be held in Abu Dhabi at a mutually convenient date, it said.
According to a UAE readout, during the meeting, the two sides discussed a number of common consular matters, plans to follow up and develop them, and means to enhance joint consular cooperation.
Belhoul praised the historical relations between the UAE and the friendly Republic of India. He also expressed the UAE’s appreciation for the efforts made by the Indian side to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries in light of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership since 2017.
Belhoul stressed that the UAE and India have succeeded in establishing an advanced and sustainable model for their strategic relations, which has yielded many qualitative achievements in several sectors. The achievements attained within the framework of bilateral relations between the two countries constitute an incentive to move forward towards further success to achieve joint development goals between the two friendly countries and their peoples and to develop mechanisms and solutions for a future rich in cooperation and partnerships in the consular field.
Belhoul conveyed the greetings of Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and his praise of the positive developments between the two countries. He stressed the UAE’s keenness and interest in strengthening and developing relations between the two countries in a way that reflects the ambitions and directions of the wise leadership, it said.
The relationship between the United Arab Emirates and the Republic of India is characterised by a remarkable path of growth and deepening cooperation, especially since bilateral relations were upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2017.
The implementation of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) on 1st May 2022 has greatly bolstered trade relations. The two sides seek to achieve a bilateral trade volume of up to US$100 billion before the target year of 2030, it added.
