India and the UAE have a "shared interest" in combating terror and this brings the two nations closer, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Mohammed Gargash said today.
His remarks came days after the Gulf nation handed over Farooq Takla, wanted in 1993 Mumbai blast case, to India.
Gargash said the element of "strategic component" has been added to the relationship of the two countries that have been witnessing an upswing in ties in key sectors of defence, trade and energy.
"It is only strategic direction that allows us to be successful. It is only (because of) the strategic direction that an oil concession is being granted to an Indian company in UAE.
"...And (also) in many many other areas, whether we move in space, nuclear energy, defence technology, cyber technology (the element of strategic partnership will be there)," he said.
On oil reserves, Gargash referred to an agreement between Abu Dhabi and National Oil Company and Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited for the establishment of an strategic oil reserve.
A consortium led by India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) won a stake in Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) 40-year offshore oil concession. The UAE is also one of the largest suppliers of crude oil to India.
The minister was delivering a lecture on 'Strategic Relations between India and UAE and the Crisis in the Middle East', organised by the Observer Research Foundation.
Responding to a question on Takla's extradition to India earlier this month, Gargash said, "This is, first of all, shared interest by both countries, which is basically addressing terrorists, terrorist networks and also terrorist organisations. This is a subject that brings us closer," he said.
Over the past one month, the UAE, with whom India has an extradition treaty, has also deported five ISIS suspects.
The minister noted that the fight against extremism and terrorism was a "generational war".
"This (fight against terrorism) is not going to go in 3-4 years. Both are keen on addressing the threat of terrorism and on addressing issues concerning our shared stability," he said.
India and the UAE have defence cooperation agreement in place.
Asked about the joint production in defence, Gargarsh did not give a direct answer.
"India is a global player and we are a much smaller state. We both recognise that we do need to work together. We need closer cooperation," he said.
He said the strategic partnership between India and the UAE has added a new dimension to the relationship.
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