India’s 79th Independence Day: HE Sunjay Sudhir Celebrates UAE-India Ties and Diaspora Contributions

On 79th India Independence Day, HE Sunjay Sudhir, India Ambassador to the UAE, celebrates the robust India-UAE partnership, spotlighting India's economic and educational strides and the growing bilateral ties that bolster mutual prosperity and global influence.

Below is the Ambassador's message to Indian expats residing in the UAE.

Fellow citizens of India residing in the United Arab Emirates,

On the occasion of the 79th Independence Day of India, I convey my warm greetings and good wishes to you all. This day reminds us of being proud Indians. I thank you all for joining us, in spite of the heat and the fact that today is a working day.

Mutual trust and mutual respect have led to the broadening and deepening of our ties and exploring new areas of cooperation. While India has engaged with all its partners around the globe, the India-UAE relationship stands apart.

I took over responsibility as the Ambassador of India to the UAE in November 2021. Next month, on 30 September, I will not only complete my term of duty in the UAE but also complete my diplomatic career, attaining the age of 60. There can be no higher honour than representing one's country and flying the Indian tricolour. This is the time I must thank you all, each member of the Indian community in the UAE, for your unstinting support to strengthen India-UAE relations.

Actually, each one of you is a true ambassador of India, representing our glorious country, and carrying the Tiranga in your hearts. It is your hard work, the trust you have built in the UAE, your support for the initiatives of GoI, and your contribution to the welfare of the Indian community that have cemented India-UAE relations.

What will make you happy is the fact that today the India-UAE relationship is at its strongest ever. While our bilateral relationship goes back hundreds of years, the last 10 years have been particularly significant. It started when Prime Minister Sri Narendra Modi visited the UAE in 2015, after a gap of 34 years of any prime minister of India visiting this country. At that time, the Indian diaspora was 2.2 million and today it is over 4.5 million. These numbers speak of your value to the UAE, to India, and to the UAE India relationship.

I wish to thank each one of you for making your contribution, in different ways, to strengthen this relationship. I would like to sincerely reaffirm that the vibrant Indian community in the UAE is widely recognized as one of the most critical socio-economic pillars of strength of the UAE as well as of India-UAE relations.

Later today I will visit one of the largest labour camps in the UAE to salute our workers who have contributed their sweat to building the UAE and strengthening our bilateral relationship. I also salute the professionals who have brought us prestige and occupied some of the highest positions possible in UAE institutions and corporations. As every drop of the ocean coalesces to make the ocean, your contributions in different walks of life have contributed to where we stand today. No wonder the UAE is perhaps the most visited country by the Prime Minister of India. He not only cares for your contribution to the relationship, but his every effort is directed towards enhancing your ease of living and towards your self-respect and dignity.

The India-UAE relationship is a relationship of generational continuity. His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, visited India in September last year and April this year, respectively, both at the personal invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Our relationship is on a very secure trajectory.

Without drawing your attention to all developments in the India–UAE relationship, let me just focus on things that matter to you directly and to the welfare of our next generation.

The campus of IIT-Delhi in Abu Dhabi is up and running. It started with an M. Tech course in January, a B. Tech course in September last year, and in January this year also commenced PhD programme. Next month, we will have the first-ever overseas campus of IIM-Ahmedabad in Dubai.

The first-ever overseas office of CBSE to service the 105 CBSE schools is already operational. UPI is being widely used in the UAE. We are working further to connect UPI and the UAE instant payment platform – AANI – to build seamless payment connectivity between the UAE and India. You all know about the BAPS Hindu Temple, which stands as one of the tallest and most visible symbols of our common ethos of peace, harmony and tolerance.

My speech cannot be complete without thanking the UAE Government and the Rulers for their graciousness and generosity towards the Indian community in the UAE. The UAE is a manifestation of their vision of building a country and society premised on peace, harmony, tolerance, and brotherhood.

Before concluding, I wish to add that, at our Embassy in Abu Dhabi, as well as our Consulate in Dubai, our doors always remain open to provide whatever assistance we can to our Indian community members in the UAE. I also take this opportunity to also thank the efforts of all my colleagues at the Embassy in Abu Dhabi and Consulate in Dubai in providing services to the Indian community in the UAE.