India–UAE Strategic Defence Partnership Advances Alongside $3 Billion LNG Deal

New Delhi / Abu Dhabi: India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have taken a significant step towards a Strategic Defence Partnership, signing a Letter of Intent (LoI) to work on a formal defence framework, while also cementing a major energy agreement worth about $3 billion.

The agreements were announced after high-level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during the latter’s visit to New Delhi. The discussions encompassed multiple areas of bilateral cooperation, including security, trade, energy and technology.

Under the defence cooperation initiative, the two countries agreed to deepen collaboration on defence industrial production, innovation, training, cyberspace and counter‑terrorism, as they work toward finalising a comprehensive Strategic Defence Partnership framework. India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said the LoI paves the way for future agreements that will expand joint capabilities and interoperability.

Alongside defence ties, India and the UAE also signed a long‑term liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply agreement worth roughly $3 billion. Under this deal, UAE’s ADNOC Gas will supply 0.5 million metric tonnes of LNG annually to India’s Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) over a ten‑year period starting in 2028. This will make India one of the UAE’s largest LNG customers.

As part of a broader agenda, the two countries set an ambitious goal to double bilateral trade to $200 billion by 2032, building on robust economic ties established since the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) came into force in 2022.

Officials highlighted that defence and security cooperation remain key pillars of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between New Delhi and Abu Dhabi, even as both countries emphasise that closer defence ties do not imply involvement in external conflicts.

The agreements reflect a widening relationship that spans energy security, technology, trade, and strategic cooperation, set against evolving geopolitical dynamics in the Middle East and the Indo‑Pacific region.