ABU DHABI: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that the Abraham Accords will help grow UAE’s position as a logistics hub for the rest of the Asian economies benefitting India as well.
In an exclusive interview with Emirates News Agency (WAM), Jaishankar also said that India and UAE have not realised the full potential in many areas of bilateral relations and newly emerging domains during and after COVID-19 will open up fresh opportunities for both countries.
Jaishankar was on a two-day visit to UAE from November 25 to 26 as part of his three-nation tour.
He said Abraham Accords between Israel, the UAE and Bahrain will impact the entire world, not the region only, and added that it will bring new economic combinations and create new logistical opportunities for the countries in the region and beyond.
“At the same time, we have always been very supportive of the Palestinian cause. It is only those who have relations with Israel are in a position to go and tell them what we think that something you need to do. I think it will change many things… India is committed to a two-state solution. We do believe that there should be direct negotiations between Israel and Palestine,” the minister told WAM during the interview on Thursday.
Jaishankar also expressed confidence about the direction Indo-US relations under US President-elect Joe Biden’s administration.
“What I can say with regard to India, we have very strong confidence that the direction of Indo-US relations which has gone steadily upwards in the last 20 years will continue to do that. So, when President-elect Biden assumes office, I see no reason why this trajectory should not continue the same way. It is continuing the same way because I think it has become bigger than personalities. There are structural linkages between India and the US,” he said.
He said India and UAE have re-imagined the energy relationship in a more collaborative way “As you get to know each other better and work more together, the potential keeps growing. Ten-fifteen years ago, we would have said ‘you are the supplier, and we are the purchaser’. Today, we have reimagined the energy relationship in a different, more collaborative way,” he said.
Jaishankar also emphasised on health security, stating that the world had woken up to the possibility that the health issue can be like a cyclone, a natural disaster with real massive implications.
“However, there is also a realisation that you cannot have security for some [leaving others behind]. Maybe in economics and food you can get away with it – somebody can go hungry, but you are okay. But if I have coronavirus, you are not going to be okay. So today, nobody is okay until everybody is okay, which means we have to rethink how health security is going to work,” he said.
During his visit, Jaishankar thanked the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, for taking care of the Indian community in the UAE.
They discussed the advancement of cooperation between the two countries in the post-COVID era. Jaishankar reached UAE from Bahrain where he paid two-day visit. Jaishankar reached Seychelles on Friday in the last leg of his three-nation tour. (ANI)
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