Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in United Arab Emirates (UAE) on January 6 for a visit to the Dubai Expo and to sign the India-UAE free trade agreement. During the Dubai Expo, Prime Minister Modi will visit the India Pavilion. There are four floors of this pavilion which display India's culture, Ayurveda, Yoga, and space programme.

There will be no PM Modi visit to Kuwait. As of June, India's external affairs minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar, made the last high-level visit under the current Modi government. While in Kuwait, EAM held a meeting with Kuwait's foreign minister and called on the Kuwaiti prime minister. PM Indira Gandhi was the last Indian prime minister to visit Kuwait in 1981 and PM Modi is scheduled to visit the country very soon.

Piyush Goyal, the Indian trade minister, inaugurated the pavilion on October 1. Many foreign leaders have visited the island, including the foreign minister of Cyprus and the king of Sweden. In the pavilion are model versions of Ram temple and the Hindu temple being constructed in Abu Dhabi.

Another highlight of the visit will be the signing of the free trade agreement between India and the UAE. The trade minister, Piyush Goyal, said earlier this month that the FTA was an "outstanding achievement for India. It will open a lot of opportunities in many sectors...it will be the fastest FTA India has ever signed...a full FTA".

September marked the beginning of the FTA negotiations. India and the United Arab Emirates held their third round of Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in Delhi in the first week of December. The two countries have experienced good trade relations. Over $30 billion worth of Indian exports went to the UAE in 2018-19, making it India's second-largest export market after the United States.

In 2018, India was UAE's second-largest trading partner with 32 billion US dollars in non-oil trade. It has committed $100 billion for infrastructure development and investments in India. There has been an increased level of engagement between India and the UAE due to their "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership."

During his three visits to the region in 2015, 2018 and 2019, PM Modi had visited several cities in the country. 'The Order of Zayed', the highest civilian award of the UAE, was given to the PM by the country. Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ), visited India in February 2016. In 2017, MBZ again visited India during India's Republic Day celebrations

A strong connection exists between India and its diaspora. UAE has the world's largest Indian diaspora outside of India. About 30 percent of the UAE's population is composed of Indian expatriates, which is the largest ethnic group in the country.

The most populous state in India is Kerala followed by Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. The UAE is largely populated by Indians from the northern states as well.

Image source- zee news