Saturday 12 / September / 2026
New Delhi: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Saturday, on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit, with India and the UAE seeking to further strengthen their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
The UAE became a full member of BRICS in January 2024, along with Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and Saudi Arabia, while Indonesia joined the grouping as a full member in January 2025.
According to UAE News Agency WAM, UAE's membership supports the country's efforts to expand its economic and trade partnerships and strengthen its presence in global markets, while adding to the group an economy that serves as a global hub for trade, investment and logistics.
The membership aligns with the UAE's approach of economic openness and diversification of partnerships, while creating opportunities to develop trade corridors, expand investment and business channels, and strengthen cooperation with emerging and developing economies.
This coincides with the expansion of the UAE's Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) programme, under which 38 agreements have been signed since its launch in September 2021, including CEPAs with India and Indonesia, both BRICS members.
The meeting comes amid growing India-UAE cooperation, particularly in the areas of trade and energy security, with the two sides working towards shared prosperity.
The Ministry of External Affairs had earlier on Friday welcomed the Crown Prince to the BRICS Summit and said his visit would provide an opportunity to further strengthen the India-UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
In a post on X, the MEA said, "Warmly welcome Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi H.H. Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi. He was received by MOS @KVSinghMPGonda at the airport."
"The visit will be an opportunity to further strengthen India-UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership centred on robust trade and energy security for shared prosperity," the ministry said.
Earlier on Saturday, Prime Minister Modi held bilateral meetings with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit.
India is hosting the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12-13. India's Chairship is guided by the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”, with development, sustainability and innovation forming key areas of focus.
BRICS has emerged as an important platform for coordination among major emerging economies and for advancing the interests of the Global South in multilateral institutions. Its agenda covers development, finance, technology, trade and people-to-people exchanges.
The grouping currently comprises 11 countries -- Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the UAE. Alongwith 10 partner countries--Nigeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
India's BRICS Chairship comes amid global economic fragmentation, technological disruption, geopolitical uncertainty, climate change and resource pressures. The expanded grouping provides a platform for cooperation on development, climate action, technology, energy and financial resilience, while also contributing to discussions on reforms in global institutions.
For India, the 2026 Chairship is focused on translating the expanded representation of BRICS into meaningful cooperation and tangible outcomes, while building consensus among its diverse members and strengthening the effectiveness of existing mechanisms.
