‘Incredibly honoured’: PM Modi gets rousing welcome from Indian community in UAE

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday addressed the Indian community in Abu Dhabi at the ‘Ahlan Modi’ cultural event as he arrived in the UAE today for a two-day visit.

Before the event, he had met and interacted with the Indian community in Abu Dhabi. Sharing photos from his meeting on social media, he said he felt “incredibly honoured by the warm welcome from the Indian Community in Abu Dhabi”.

Modi arrived in the UAE today for a two-day visit during which he will be inaugurating Abu Dhabi’s first Hindu temple. Upon landing, he expressed that being in the UAE made him “feel at home.”

Modi was greeted by the President of the UAE, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and was accorded the Guard of Honour.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan also held a bilateral meeting before the ‘Ahlan Modi’ cultural event, which is expected to host between 35,000 and 40,000 attendees.

The highly-anticipated event is being dubbed as one of the biggest diaspora events of Prime Minister Modi. It will take place at the Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

While in the UAE, the Prime Minister will also inaugurate the BAPS Mandir, the first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi. “The BAPS temple will be an enduring tribute to the values of harmony, peace and tolerance, which both India and the UAE share,” he said.

This will be the Prime Minister’s seventh trip to the UAE since assuming office in 2014, and the second to Qatar. In his statement before his departure to the UAE, Modi said he is looking forward to further advancing India’s comprehensive strategic partnership with the UAE.

“Over the last nine years, our cooperation with the UAE in diverse sectors such as trade and investment, defence and security, food and energy security and education has grown manifold. Our cultural and people-to-people connect is stronger than ever,” he said.