Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, spoke on the phone on Thursday to discuss ways to increase ties between their countries.
Sheikh Mohamed, also Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and Mr Modi exchanged views on the latest regional and international developments, and global issues of mutual interest.
They reviewed the latest developments on Covid-19 worldwide and how to increase co-operation between the UAE and India to battle the virus.
Sheikh Mohamed congratulated Mr Modi on India's Republic Day, which fell on January 26, and wished him and his people further development, stability and prosperity.
He spoke of the strong ties between the UAE and India, and the Emirates' wish to develop them further, especially in the economic, trade, technology and energy, in the interest of their people.
Mr Modi thanked Sheikh Mohamed for his good wishes and echoed the desire to boost ties.
Relations between the UAE and India are generational and deep, having established diplomatic ties in 1972, a year after the Emirates was founded.
Today, more than three million Indians call the UAE home.
Annual trade between the countries is estimated at $60 billion, making the UAE India’s third-largest trade partner.
Mr Modi previously described building closer ties with the UAE as one of India’s greatest foreign policy achievements.
He has visited the UAE three times in four years and received the Order of Zayed, the nation's highest civilian award, from Sheikh Mohamed in August 2019.
Sheikh Mohamed was the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations in 2017, his second visit to the country in less than a year.
Narendra Modi's last visit to the UAE:
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
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The past Palme d'Or winners
2018 Shoplifters, Hirokazu Kore-eda
2017 The Square, Ruben Ostlund
2016 I, Daniel Blake, Ken Loach
2015 Dheepan, Jacques Audiard
2014 Winter Sleep (Kış Uykusu), Nuri Bilge Ceylan
2013 Blue is the Warmest Colour (La Vie d'Adèle: Chapitres 1 et 2), Abdellatif Kechiche, Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux
2012 Amour, Michael Haneke
2011 The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick
2010 Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Lung Bunmi Raluek Chat), Apichatpong Weerasethakul
2009 The White Ribbon (Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte), Michael Haneke
2008 The Class (Entre les murs), Laurent Cantet
Strait of Hormuz
Fujairah is a crucial hub for fuel storage and is just outside the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route linking Middle East oil producers to markets in Asia, Europe, North America and beyond.
The strait is 33 km wide at its narrowest point, but the shipping lane is just three km wide in either direction. Almost a fifth of oil consumed across the world passes through the strait.
Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the strait, a move that would risk inviting geopolitical and economic turmoil.
Last month, Iran issued a new warning that it would block the strait, if it was prevented from using the waterway following a US decision to end exemptions from sanctions for major Iranian oil importers.
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