The UAE is home to about 3.5 million Indian nationals – the largest expatriate community in the Gulf country.
Our Bureau
Abu Dhabi
At a bustling gathering, at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the deep-rooted friendship between India and the UAE. Addressing the enthusiastic crowd which mainly consisted of Indian diaspora, PM Modi expressed profound gratitude towards the attendees hailing from various parts of the UAE and different states of India
“You have scripted history by coming in such large numbers here. You may have come from different parts of UAE and from different states of India, but everyone’s hearts are connected,” Modi said at the event that began with national anthems of the two countries.
“This is the time to hail the friendship between India and the UAE. In this historic stadium, every heartbeat echoes the same sentiment- Long live Bharat-UAE friendship,” he added.
Chants of “Modi-Modi” resonated through the stadium, echoing the enthusiasm and admiration for the Indian Prime Minister among the attendees.
“I have come to meet my family members. I have brought the fragrance of the soil where you were born and have brought the message of 140 crore people. The message is that Bharat is proud of you,” he told the diaspora.
“India’s Rupay helped UAE develop their domestic payment card. They have named the card Jeevan… Soon UPI services will start here and this will facilitate seamless payment transaction and you can send money to your family without any hassle,” he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, underscoring the ancient community and cultural ties between the two countries, spoke a few lines in Arabic, which he later translated as how both India and the UAE are scripting a better future on ‘duniya ki kitaab’ (the world’s book) with ‘waqt ki kalam’ (the pen of time). He then mentioned that many of these Arabic words are commonly spoken in India.
