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India-UAE Defence Cooperation
Context: The recent visit of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister, to India (April 8–9, 2025), marked a significant milestone in bilateral defence cooperation.
India- UAE Defence Relation
- India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) share a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, rooted in historical, cultural, and economic ties.
- India-UAE defence ties are institutionally robust and multi-dimensional, encompassing: Bilateral defence dialogues and joint defence cooperation committees
- Regular joint military exercises like Desert Eagle-II (Air Force), Gulf Star (Naval), and ongoing army-level interactions
- Exchange of military training programmes for capacity-building and doctrinal alignment
- Operational-level cooperation between Indian Navy and UAE Navy, as well as Coast Guard forces
- Growing industrial collaboration in defence manufacturing and technology innovation
- The 2003 MoU on Defence Cooperation and the 2017 MoU on Defence Industry Cooperation laid the foundation for long-term institutional engagement. The current phase focuses on operationalising these frameworks with a future-ready orientation.
Key Outcomes of the Visit
- Focus on Training Exchanges
- Training exchanges identified as a key area to enhance mutual understanding of each other’s defence ecosystems.
- This will accelerate strategic trust, operational interoperability, and doctrine alignment between armed forces.
- Formalisation of Coast Guard Cooperation
- Expressed satisfaction over active Coast Guard-to-Coast Guard collaboration.
- Committed to formalising cooperation through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to:
- Strengthen maritime domain awareness
- Enhance joint surveillance, search and rescue, and anti-piracy operations
- Boost to Defence Industry Collaboration
- Both sides agreed that collaboration between defence industries should be an integral part of bilateral relations.
- Discussed opportunities for:
- Joint ventures
- Co-production and co-development projects
- Transfer of technology and innovation partnerships
- Recognition of complementarities between India’s “Make-in-India” and UAE’s “Make-in-Emirates” initiatives.
- Promotion of Innovation and Technology
- Agreed to closely cooperate in defence innovation, R&D, and emerging technologies to enhance strategic autonomy and resilience.
- India reiterated its commitment to leverage startups, incubators, and tech clusters for collaborative innovation.
Other Broader Cooperation Announcements: Apart from defence, the visit also witnessed progress in other strategic sectors:
- Education Diplomacy
- Establishment of the first-ever overseas campus of IIM-Ahmedabad in Dubai; MBA programme to commence in September 2025.
- New campus of Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) at India Pavilion, Expo City Dubai.
- Healthcare Partnership
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- The UAE government allocated land for a 100-bed “India-UAE Friendship Hospital” in Dubai.
- Focus on affordable healthcare for the Indian blue-collar diaspora.
- Recognition of Indian expatriates’ contributions to UAE’s growth.
- The UAE government allocated land for a 100-bed “India-UAE Friendship Hospital” in Dubai.
- Strategic Infrastructure Collaboration
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- MoU signed between Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) and Drydocks World (DDW) (a DP World Company) to:
- Develop ship repair clusters at Kochi (Kerala) and Vadinar (Gujarat)
- Synergise maritime industrial capabilities.
- MoU signed between Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) and Drydocks World (DDW) (a DP World Company) to:
- India-UAE Defence Partnership Forum
- Welcomed the India-UAE Defence Partnership Forum, a platform for:
- Dialogue between defence industry stakeholders.
- Strategic matchmaking for joint product development.
- Promotion of defence exhibitions and technology showcases.
- Welcomed the India-UAE Defence Partnership Forum, a platform for:
Significance of the visit for India’s Strategic Interests
- Strengthening India’s Maritime Security Posture
- Enhances India’s reach and surveillance capabilities in the critical western Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
- Facilitates quicker response to maritime contingencies, including piracy, smuggling, or humanitarian crises.
- Deepening Strategic Foothold in the Gulf
- UAE serves as a gateway to West Asia; defence ties reinforce India’s maritime and energy security.
- Crucial in counter-terrorism intelligence sharing and navigating Gulf geopolitics.
- Boosting Defence Manufacturing and Aatmanirbhar Bharat
- Collaboration in defence industries enables technology transfer and expands defence export markets.
- Supports India’s goal of becoming a net security provider and a major global defence exporter.
- Enhancing Interoperability and Joint Preparedness
- Regular exercises and training foster operational synergy.
- Facilitates doctrine alignment and preparedness in the face of shared threats like terrorism and maritime piracy.
- Leveraging Multilateral Platforms
- Supports India’s leadership in multilateral arrangements like:
- I2U2 (India-Israel-UAE-USA)
- West Asia Quad (India-UAE-USA-Saudi Arabia)
- Helps shape regional security architecture aligned with India’s Indo-Pacific vision.
- Supports India’s leadership in multilateral arrangements like:
- Building Strategic Resilience through Innovation
- Collaborative innovation in emerging technologies (AI, cyber, space-based ISR) enhances strategic depth.
- Aligns with India’s goals of self-reliance and future-ready armed forces.
