PM Narendra Modi’s UAE Tour: An Analysis

By Deepak Parvatiyar
August 21, 2015

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A warm hug with the Crown Prince of United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi, selfie with the UAE Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, and finally his no-nonsense message to Pakistan from Arab soil, “We have raised our voice against terrorism in unison from this soil. This is significant…” In no uncertain terms he asserted that the theory of “good Taliban and bad Taliban formulation will not work anymore”.

These developments could otherwise have significantly wrapped up Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to the UAE. But this was not enough. His decision to begin his two-day trip with a visit to the historic Sheikh Zayed Grand mosque, the third largest in the world after the ones in Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia, as well as his tweet about a decision made public on his first day of the tour that the UAE government was allotting land to build the “first-ever Hindu Temple” in Abu Dhabi, unfolded a new dimension of Modi’s persona.

Modi’s Praise for Islam and Politics of Symbolism

Many Muslims back home still consider Modi a pariah – someone who refuses to wear skull caps unlike other ‘secular’ Hindu politicians to woo Muslims and whose tenure as the Chief Minister of Gujarat saw one of the bloodiest communal riots of recent times.

Hence, his visit to the mosque, and declaring that it was a symbol of “peace, piety, harmony and inclusiveness that are inherent to the faith of Islam” made news back home. However, this was not the first time that Modi had praised Islam. As recently as July 9, during his visit to yet another Islamic nation, Kazakhstan, he had talked of Central Asia’s Islamic traditions as a positive influence on India, “The confluence of Indian and Islamic civilisations took place in Central Asia. We enriched each other not only in spiritual thought, but also in medicine, science, mathematics and astronomy”.
Earlier on June 16, he had told an audience comprising envoys of Muslim nations such as Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt and Indonesia that “The Quran mentions the word ‘ilm’ 800 times. It is among the most repeated words after Allah. This is the importance of knowledge in the religion…”
Therefore, it’s little surprise that Modi’s visit to the mosque in UAE and the decision of the UAE government to allot land for the Hindu temple set the Twitter ablaze with some interpreting them as “some sort of victory for Hindu-Muslim unity”, and some describing them as a blow to the “sickulars” or “pseudo seculars”.
Modi’s bête noir and former Gujarat Chief Minister Shankarsinh Vaghela went on to slam Modi for his “double standard”. The same Modi, who had refused to wear Muslim skull cap in Ahmedabad during ‘sadbhavna’ fasts, paid a visit to Abu Dhabi’s Jama Masjid. However, former Jammu & Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah claimed in his tweet that “This Mosque is Abu Dhabi’s biggest tourist attraction, this is the PM’s ‘Terracotta Army’ moment no more, no less”.
Yet, none can deny the symbolic value of Modi’s visit to the mosque. As we mentioned in these columns time and again, symbolisms do work in politics and Modi knows it well. He has used them effectively to make a statement during his foreign visits – whether through the pomp and show at the Madison Square Garden in New York, or by beating a traditional Taiko drum in Tokyo!

Modi’s Strong Pitch Against Terrorism

In the Gulf nation, too, he re-enacted a Madison Square Garden when he addressed a packed Dubai cricket stadium on August 17. This is where he emphasised on curbing terror at a time when the UAE, too, is playing a crucial role in the Saudi Arabia-led war in Yemen against the Shia Houthis. Strategically, too, he harped on the need to develop counter-terrorism links in the Middle East.
In a joint statement, the two nations rejected “extremism and any link between religion and terrorism” and condemned use of religion even by states, “to justify, support and sponsor terrorism against other countries”. Both nations also deplored “efforts by countries to give religious and sectarian colour to political issues and disputes, including in West and South Asia, and use terrorism to pursue their aims”. Modi and the crown prince of UAE agreed to work together for the adoption of India’s proposed Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism in the United Nations.
Analysts say that his visit was also crucial to re-establish the balance between his government’s “lean-Israel” policy and the Arabian Gulf states where over 7.2 million Indians live and work.

Bilateral Cooperation on Black Money Issue and Trans-national Crimes

Modi is the first Indian prime minister to visit the UAE since Indira Gandhi in 1981. This is surprising considering the fact that India is UAE’s second largest trading partner and UAE is India’s third largest trading partner! The bilateral trade between them is to the tune of $30 billion (Rs. 1.95 lakh crore) and the remittances from the UAE total over $11 billion (Rs. 71,500 crore) annually.
Energy and trade were priority during his visit and Modi addressed investors in Masdar City, a planned city project in Abu Dhabi, which relies on solar energy and other renewable energy sources. There, he made a strong pitch for investment in India, outlining India’s immediate investment potential of $1 trillion.
Yet, an important agreement that would do good to Modi’s constituency back home was the agreement between him and the UAE crown prince at Abu Dhabi on strengthening cooperation in law enforcement, anti-money laundering, drug trafficking, other trans-national crimes, extradition arrangements, and police training.
Money laundering and black money have been the issues raised time and again by the Opposition after Modi had promised in his election rallies to bring back black money from foreign shores within hundred days if he came to power. As it involved many complications, Modi has been aggressively pursuing the matter. In November 2014, he had scored a major victory on the issue when at the G20 summit in Brisbane, he got the endorsement of G20 for repatriation of black money.

During Modi’s UAE visit, both the nations agreed to:

a) “Promote cooperation in cyber security, including prevention on use of cyber for terrorism, radicalization and disturbing social harmony”
b) “Establish a dialogue between the respective National Security Advisors and National Security Councils”
c) “Strengthen maritime security in the Gulf and the Indian Ocean region”
d) “Promote collaboration and interoperability for humanitarian assistance and evacuation in natural disasters and conflict situations”
e) “Cooperate in manufacture of defence equipment in India”
f) “Promote peace, reconciliation, stability, inclusiveness and cooperation in the wider South Asia, Gulf and West Asia region.
g) “Further promote trade between the two countries with the target of increasing trade by 60 per cent in the next five years.

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