India, UAE working on joint health projects in Kenya and Tanzania

India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are working on a joint initiative to establish health projects in Kenya and Tanzania and taking forward cooperation in food security within the I2U2 framework that includes the US and Israel.

These issues figured in the India-UAE joint commission meeting that was co-chaired by external affairs minister S Jaishankar and his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdulla bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.

The meeting also reviewed cooperation in diverse sectors such as energy and investments.

A team comprising representatives of the Indian and UAE governments recently visited Kenya and Tanzania to identify opportunities for joint projects in the health sector, the external affairs ministry said in a statement on Friday.

Both ministers expressed happiness at the forward movement in healthcare and education cooperation. Discussions between the two countries on establishing an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in UAE have moved forward with the setting up of a joint working group between institutions on both sides.

The ministers reviewed ongoing discussions between the two sides in the field of food security, including within the India-Israel-US-UAE (I2U2) framework, the statement said.

The first I2U2 Summit held in July unveiled initiatives focused on food security and clean energy, including investments of $2billion by the UAE to develop a series of integrated food parks across India and a $330million hybrid renewable energy project in Gujarat.

Jaishankar and Sheikh Abdulla bin Zayed expressed satisfaction at the entry into force of the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) on 1 May and the organisation of activities and events for effective implementation of the pact. They reiterated their commitment to achieving the goal of $100billion in bilateral trade in the next five years.

"They also positively assessed the investment partnership between both countries and the growth of UAE investments in India in diverse sectors," the statement said, adding the next meeting of a bilateral high level task force will be held shortly in India.

The ministers reviewed progress in elements of bilateral cooperation identified in a Vision Statement adopted by the leaders of the two countries at a virtual summit on 18 February.

The two sides have made progress in discussions on different aspects related to renewable energy and green hydrogen.

The two sides emphasised the importance of promoting start-ups and entrepreneurship in fields such as fintech, edutech, healthtech, agritech, logistics and supply chains. They also discussed the possibility of linking instant payment platforms in both countries, such as through India's United Payment Interface (UPI).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan last met in Abu Dhabi on June 28, following their virtual summit in February. They also participated in the virtual I2U2 Summit in July.

The UAE foreign minister appreciated the contributions of the Indian community to his country's progress while Jaishankar thanked him and the UAE leadership for taking care of Indian expatriates. Both sides agreed to hold meetings of various institutional dialogues on consular issues, skills and manpower in the coming months.

Two memorandums of understanding were signed by the two sides in the presence of the ministers – an MoU between the Wildlife Institute of India and the International Fund for Houbara Conservation for the conservation of the Great Indian Bustard and the Lesser Florican, and another the UAE foreign ministry and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) on establishing the India-UAE Cultural Council Forum.