Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, banged the gong at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Wednesday as part of his official visit to India.
Sheikh Hamdan took part in the time-honoured tradition, which marks the start of the day's trading, during a tour of Asia's oldest stock exchange, established in 1875.
He was welcomed by Sundararaman Ramamurthy, managing director and chief executive of the BSE, in India's financial centre of Mumbai.
Sheikh Hamdan was briefed on the operations of one of the world's largest stock exchanges, with more than 5,600 listed companies.
He underlined the UAE's desire to strengthen ties with India's financial markets and spoke of the efforts of both nations to enhance capital markets through the use of technology such as AI and blockchain.
He set out his hopes for greater co-operation between the BSE and Dubai Financial Market to bolster the emirate's role as a link between eastern and western markets.
Building business ties
Sheikh Hamdan stressed the importance of economic partnerships between the long-standing allies after attending an event held in Mumbai to mark the launch of a Dubai International Chamber office in Bengaluru.
“The opening of Dubai International Chamber’s new office in Bengaluru represents a strategic step that will elevate economic co-operation between Dubai and India," Sheikh Hamdan said, in remarks carried by Dubai Media Office. "It lays the foundation for a new chapter of economic integration, stronger business partnerships and the development of the digital economy.”
Sheikh Hamdan also held talks on Wednesday with Piyush Goyal, India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, in Mumbai.
Their discussions focused on advancing relations across sectors including trade, energy, investment, manufacturing, logistics, technology and health care.
Meeting cricket stars
The Dubai Crown Prince's itinerary included meeting members of India's all-conquering cricket team.
Sheikh Hamdan spoke to Rohit Sharma, captain of India’s Test and one-day international teams, and Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav.
He highlighted the UAE’s growing role as an international centre for sporting events. Sheikh Hamdan congratulated the players on India’s recent triumph in the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, where the team won the title at Dubai International Cricket Stadium last month.
Sheikh Hamdan held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Tuesday, on the first day of his visit. Then, he hailed the ties between the UAE and India and said the nations shared a vision for the future focused on “opportunity and innovation”.
It was his first official visit to India and his most high-profile overseas engagement since being appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence in July.
