His visit to the United Arab Emirates comes amid evolving geo-political developments in the region, particularly in Afghanistan

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held another round of “productive interaction” with his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan here where the two leaders discussed the entire gamut of bilateral relations, especially the strong focus on economic recovery post COVID-19.

Jaishankar arrived in Abu Dhabi on Sunday with a focus on boosting bilateral economic cooperation. His visit to the United Arab Emirates comes amid evolving geo-political developments in the region, particularly in Afghanistan. “Another productive interaction with FM @ABZayed on our bilateral cooperation. Took forward our ongoing discussions on this subject, starting in February. The strong focus on post-COVID economic recovery will remain a priority for us,” he said in a tweet late on Sunday along with a picture of them holding a meeting outdoors.

According to UAE’s official WAM news agency, the two leaders discussed ways to develop and enhance bilateral cooperation in all domains, in a way that will fulfil the aspirations of the leadership of India and the UAE and benefit their peoples. Emphasising on the historic ties between the two nations, Sheikh Abdullah said that the UAE-India strategic partnership contributes to creating more opportunities for growth in commercial, economic, cultural and other fields.

They also deliberated the latest COVID-19 developments, the two countries’ efforts to contain its repercussions, and the global efforts to provide vaccines to all countries, WAM reported. Sheikh Abdullah also praised the cooperation between the two countries to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic, it said. The UAE foreign minister visited New Delhi on February 26 and held talks with Jaishankar.

Jaishankar earlier paid a two-day visit to the UAE from November 25 to 26 last year in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Interestingly, Jaishankar’s visit to Abu Dhabi coincided with the trip of his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi, amid efforts by the Gulf emirate to facilitate back channel talks to restart dialogue between New Delhi and Islamabad.