Abstract: India and the UAE’s strategic partnership has quickly ascended from a diplomatic relationship to a strong alliance encompassing commerce, energy, military, and technology. Due to their common interests in the area and their long history together, the relationship has lately grown stronger thanks to high-level visits and important agreements, such as a significant LNG contract and a Strategic Defence Partnership. This partnership not only meets India’s energy and economic demands but also makes both countries important, linked players in shaping the security and economic structure of volatile West Asia, with implications for regional groups and power balances.
Problem statement: How is India dealing with changes in global energy prices and regional politics by forming an unprecedented, multifaceted strategic alliance with the UAE?
So what?: India and the UAE need to carefully follow through on trade, energy, and defence co-production agreements they have signed. Simultaneously, they need to use their growing ties with Israel to promote stability in the region and protect important trade and maritime routes. This will turn strategic goals into real security and economic benefits.
Forging a Comprehensive Bond
Bilateral relations between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have seen a remarkable ascent in recent times. The relationship is no longer confined to the diplomatic sphere. It spans into economic, cultural and defence cooperation. Underpinned by longstanding historical connections, both India and the UAE share a mutual interest in promoting peace and development in volatile West Asia.
Leaders of both countries further strengthened the ties as was recently witnessed when Prime Minister Narendra Modi warmly welcomed President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan during the latter’s visit to India on January 19, 2026. This visit culminated in India signing a $3 billion deal to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the UAE, making it its top buyer. Additionally, both leaders pledged to double bilateral trade to $200 billion in six years and form a strategic defence partnership.[1]
Energy Diplomacy through Economic Lenses
The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which has been operational since May 2022, has strengthened economic cooperation between India and the UAE. A notable aspect of this dynamic is that bilateral non-oil trade between the two countries has grown by more than 20% each year since it came into effect. This agreement has already been instrumental in driving a significant increase in bilateral trade, with the UAE retaining its position as India’s third-largest trading partner and a vital export destination.[2] Amidst a tumultuous global energy market, looming uncertainties in West Asia and evolving alliances of major powers have prompted India to safeguard its strategic interests and diversify its energy sources. The signing of a $3 billion LNG supply deal added a vital energy component, ensuring long-term, reliable energy imports for India. Under the agreement, Abu Dhabi’s public gas entity, ADNOC Gas, will deliver a total of 0.5 million tons of LNG to HPCL in India over 10 years. This arrangement signifies the UAE’s strategic intent to bolster LNG exports to markets beyond normative boundaries. ADNOC Gas also highlighted that the agreement raises the total value of its contracts with India to over $20 billion, thereby solidifying India’s position as its leading LNG purchaser.[3] This initiative bolsters the UAE’s overarching strategy to exploit its gas reserves for economic revenue while reducing its economic dependence on crude oil.
The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which has been operational since May 2022, has strengthened economic cooperation between India and the UAE.
As per Dr Deepak Mittal, cooperation between India and the UAE has been thriving in areas such as digital payments, local currency trade, artificial intelligence, data centres, food parks, nuclear energy, and connectivity.[4] This economic integration, tied to energy security, is a strong pillar of the strategic partnership between the two countries.
Comprehensive Defence Engagement
On the defence front, the signing of the Strategic Defence Partnership (SDP) has been a landmark decision for India and the UAE, with long-term implications for the region’s security and stability. The new Strategic Partnership Agreement overtly embraces provisions for defence co-production, allowing India to showcase its ‘Make in India’ capabilities while allowing the UAE to diversify its defence suppliers with sophisticated, cost-effective technology.[5] The SDP owes its origins to the Defence memorandum, signed in 2003, followed by a security cooperation agreement in 2011 and the elevation of bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2017. The bilateral defence collaboration has been consistently guided by institutional frameworks such as the Joint Defence Cooperation Committee and service-level dialogues. With the UAE’s military modernisation, India’s indigenous defence systems, including Akash, BrahMos, and LCA Tejas, have gained traction in the UAE’s defence sphere.[6] Post-signing of the agreement, in a press release, India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri urged restraint in viewing the engagement as an indicator of emerging regional realignments. He emphasised that India’s defence diplomacy across the Gulf and Indian Ocean regions embodies a sustained, comprehensive strategy rooted in mutual partnerships and unwavering strategic autonomy.[7]
On the defence front, the signing of the Strategic Defence Partnership (SDP) has been a landmark decision for India and the UAE, with long-term implications for the region’s security and stability.
Strategic Posturing
The growing strategic ties between India and the UAE resonate far beyond their bilateral ties, carrying clear messages throughout the region. Days after President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s visit to India, a notable development occurred in Pakistan. Significantly, the UAE has abandoned plans to operate Islamabad International Airport. The project had been under consideration since August 2025, but it was shelved when Abu Dhabi failed to secure a local partner and appeared to lose interest. In the backdrop of strained UAE-Saudi Arabia relations, conversely, growing relations between Pakistan-Saudi Arabia on the one hand, and India-UAE relations on the other, a Pakistani publication, The Express Tribune, however, confirmed that the cancellation of the UAE deal was not officially related to politics.[8]
Although presented as a purely commercial decision, analysts interpreted the move as a deliberate strategic shift, highlighting Abu Dhabi’s preference for strengthening ties with New Delhi over its traditionally complex relations with Pakistan.
Israel in India-UAE Matrix
A significant advantage of the growing India-UAE collaboration is its increasing cooperation with Israel, forming a developing trilateral structure. This alliance is based on common defence strengths, the exchange of technology, and aligned worldviews on threats, acting as an effective counterbalance in the security dynamics of West Asia, in contrast to the more loosely connected Pakistan-Saudi-Türkiye coalition, notoriously referred to as an “Islamic NATO’’.[9] Shared interests, rather than formal alliances, drive the tripartite agreement between India, the UAE, and Israel in the fields of maritime security, terrorism, and drone technology, underscoring joint exercises, defence cooperation, and intelligence sharing, among others. India, while countering the Pakistan-Saudi nexus, is spearheading the use of Israeli technology to protect trade and energy routes in the Gulf. This helps India in dissuading all parties involved and assumes a more dynamic role in promoting security in the Middle East.
A significant advantage of the growing India-UAE collaboration is its increasing cooperation with Israel, forming a developing trilateral structure.
Structural and Geopolitical Volatility
The West Asian region stays notably unstable, characterised by dynamic alliances, extended conflicts, and areas of contention. This precarious framework significantly impedes the execution of sustainable bilateral initiatives. The ambition of augmenting bilateral commerce to $200 billion within a six-year timeframe is exceedingly ambitious; however, it is beset by numerous challenges. [10] Unpredictable global economic circumstances, including fluctuating energy prices, escalating costs, and supply chain disruptions, may further complicate this endeavour.
In addition to these overarching challenges, enterprises seeking to capitalise on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) continue to face pragmatic issues arising from regulatory discrepancies between the Indian and UAE markets. A report from Mint indicates that Indian exporters express concerns about compliance costs associated with rules-of-origin regulations.[11] These stipulations determine whether a product is eligible for reduced tariffs under the agreement. The situation is exacerbated by relatively low tariff rates in the UAE, prompting exporters to question the justification for the associated paperwork and compliance costs. Indian exporters have formally communicated these concerns to the Ministry of Commerce. Although the certification of origin remains a valuable metric for assessing the utilisation and adherence to agreements, it does not always manifest immediately in export statistics. Nonetheless, firms are still engaged in evaluating the cost-benefit analysis.
The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), a prominent initiative in which India and the UAE are intended to serve as central nodes, now serves as a testament to the tenuousness of translating strategic aspirations into tangible outcomes. Regional security instabilities, particularly those arising from the Gaza conflict, have infiltrated bilateral relations that are essential to the corridor’s foundational structure.[12] The tension between Israel and Jordan, for example, has directly obstructed advancements on the rail infrastructure proposed within IMEC, hindering technical discussions and preventing member nations from assembling to further the project’s action plan as initially projected following the G20 declaration.
The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, a prominent initiative in which India and the UAE are intended to serve as central nodes, now serves as a testament to the tenuousness of translating strategic aspirations into tangible outcomes.
For India and the UAE, whose strategic collaboration has devoted substantial political resources to the prosperity of IMEC, these accumulated vulnerabilities highlight a crucial dilemma: trans-regional economic frameworks remain contingent upon the goodwill of intermediary nations, the financial capabilities of involved states, and the incessantly unpredictable dynamics of Middle Eastern geopolitics. What was envisioned as a revolutionary geo-economic passageway now faces the stark reality that, if not addressed, regional trust deficits could undermine even the most carefully constructed corridors of connectivity.
Conclusion
In the end, the relationship between India and the UAE has grown into a full-fledged strategic alliance based on a shared goal of progress and stability in the region. Deepening economic integration, lasting energy cooperation, and a changing defence partnership that includes cooperative technical development are all shaping its path. This relationship not only enhances connections between the two countries but also actively reshapes how things work in the region, creating a new framework for safety and prosperity in the Gulf and beyond. By matching their economic prospects and strategic interests, India and the UAE are working together to become important and long-lasting players in making the broader region’s future stable and creative.
[1] The Arab Weekly, “India, UAE Sign $3 Billion LNG Deal, Agree to Boost Trade and Defence Ties,” January 20, 2026, https://thearabweekly.com/india-uae-sign-3-billion-lng-deal-agree-boost-trade-and-defence-ties.
[2] Dolce Vita Advisors, “Prime Minister Modi’s UAE Visit: Catalyst for Economic Expansion and Strategic Partnerships,” 2025, https://dolcevitaadvisors.com/prime-minister-modi-uae-visit/.
[3] Tactics Institute, “India–UAE $3 Billion LNG Deal Signals Deepening Energy and Strategic Alignment,” January 20, 2026, https://tacticsinstitute.com/analysis/india-uae-3-billion-lng-deal-signals-deepening-energy-and-strategic-alignment/.
[4] Economy Middle East, “India Republic Day: UAE–India Partnership Driven by Mutual Growth and Unity of Vision, Says Indian Ambassador,” January 26, 2026, https://economymiddleeast.com/news/india-republic-day-uae-india-partnership-mutual-growth-unity-of-vision/.
[5] Anil Bhat, “India-UAE Defence Cooperation Is a Comprehensive Strategic Alliance with Wider Regional Ramifications,” South Asia Monitor, January 23, 2026, https://www.southasiamonitor.org/spotlight/india-uae-defence-cooperation-comprehensive-strategic-alliance-wider-regional.
[6] StratNews Global, “India–UAE Defence Pact Years in Making,” January 20, 2026, https://stratnewsglobal.com/west-asia/uae/india-uae-defence-pact-years-in-making/.
[7] Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, “Transcript of Special Briefing by Foreign Secretary on the Official Visit of the President of UAE to India,” Media Briefings, January 20, 2026, https://www.mea.gov.in/media-briefings.htm?dtl/40603/Transcript_of_Special_Briefing_by_Foreign_Secretary_on_the_Official_Visit_of_the_President_of_UAE_to_India.
[8] Times of India, “‘Lost Interest’: Days after President’s Delhi Visit, UAE Scraps Its Airport Deal with Pakistan,” January 29, 2026, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/lost-interest-days-after-presidents-delhi-visit-uae-scraps-its-airport-deal-with-pak/articleshow/127543642.cms.
[9] Firstpost, “How an India-UAE-Israel Bloc Is Quietly Emerging as a Counterweight to the ‘Islamic Nato’,” February 14, 2026, https://www.firstpost.com/explainers/india-uae-israel-bloc-islamic-nato-west-asia-security-13971396.html.
[10] Hindustan Times, “India, UAE Set to Double Trade to $200 Billion before Target of 2032: Envoy,” February 17, 2026, https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/india-uae-set-to-double-trade-to-200-bn-before-target-of-2032-envoy-101771327440780.html.
[11] Business Standard, “India and UAE in Talks to Resolve Customs Concerns Raised by Exporters,” June 21, 2023, https://www.business-standard.com/india-news/india-and-uae-in-talks-to-resolve-customs-concerns-raised-by-exporters-123062100434_1.html.
[12] International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), “Obstacles to the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor,” IISS Online Analysis, November 16, 2023, https://www.iiss.org/online-analysis/online-analysis/2023/11/obstacles-to-the-india-middle-east-europe-economic-corridor/.
