Dubai [UAE], May 23 : Following the visit of the Group 4 all-party parliamentary delegation to the UAE, led by Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde, India's Ambassador to the UAE, Sunjay Sudhir, called the trip as "a very successful visit" and emphasised that the visit is crucial to share India's perspective not only on Pahalgam terror attack, but about the overall issue of terrorism.
While speaking to ANI, Sudhir said, "I think it was a very successful visit. India and UAE have been working very closely ever since April 22 and our leadership has been in touch. Prime Minister Modi has been speaking to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed; our Foreign Minister, and our NSA have been in touch with their counterparts. So, this visit was actually a very important visit for us to share our perspectives, not only on the Pahalgam terror attack and its aftermath, but also about the overall issue of terrorism, also to share the tenets of the new normal which the Prime Minister has been talking about."
He further stated that the delegation was warmly received by senior UAE leaders, including the Minister for Tolerance and Coexistence and members of the Federal National Council.
"The multi-party delegation was very well received in the UAE by senior cabinet minister, Sheikh Nahyan Mabarak Al Nahyan, the minister for tolerance and coexistence. The delegation also met a large team of the Federal National Council, chaired by His Excellency Ali Rashid al-Nuaimi, who is the chairman of the FNC Committee on Interior, Foreign Affairs and Defence," Sudhir told ANI.
He added, "I think the discussions were very substantive, and the delegation actually had a lot of satisfaction with the kind of response they received. They were actually talking the same language, and today, UAE is as convinced about the necessity of dealing with terrorism in all its forms and manifestations as India."
The Indian Ambassador to the UAE further spoke about the ties between India and the UAE and called the Gulf nation India's third-largest trading partner and the second-largest export destination.
He said, "The Middle East is a part of our extended neighbourhood. The Middle East actually hosts a huge Indian diaspora. The UAE itself is home to about 4.3 million Indians, and 5.5 million Indians visit the UAE every year. They are our third-largest trading partner and the second-largest export destination. So, it's a very important country for us and in the last 10 years, Prime Minister Modi has visited this country seven times, and I think that itself speaks of how much importance we give to each other in this part of the world."
Commenting on India's global outreach against terrorism, Sudhir credited the UAE for playing a key role in shaping a balanced narrative. "...When it came to the OIC declaration, which was initially set to be one of the typical skewed declarations, the UAE played a big role in getting a reference inserted on terrorism. I think that itself was a very big thing and in the times to come, we will continue working on dealing with terrorism and trying to eliminate it in all forms...," he said.
Earlier in the day, Shrikant Eknath Shinde delivered a strong message regarding India's firm stance against terrorism.
Shinde emphasised that while India has always initiated dialogue, including gestures like the Lahore Declaration and Prime Ministerial visits to Pakistan, the response has often come in the form of terrorist attacks.
While addressing a press conference, Shinde said, "India is the one nation that has initiated dialogues time and again. There are many examples where our Prime Ministers visited Pakistan... After the Lahore Declaration, happened the Kargil war. So every time we initiated a discussion, we initiated a dialogue, but the answer given to us was the terrorist attack. I think their only motive is to destabilise India, which is progressing economically and where everyone is going ahead. I think it is very much important to understand that in the geopolitical region, in the Indian subcontinent, India is the only nation that is stable, that is going ahead."