India, UAE sign 7 agreements to step up bilateral cooperation Thursday February 11,2016

India and the United Arab Emirates(UAE)Thursday night February 11,2016 signed a wide-ranging set of seven agreements including on cyber security, infrastructure investment and insurance after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi  and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi watch as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj exchanges a file with an Abu Dhabi delegate after signing an agreement in New Delhi

Expanding economic engagement, particularly in oil and renewable energy sector and increasing UAE's investment in India, was a major focus area at the deliberations.

UAE's national oil company Adnoc has already agreed to store crude oil in India's maiden strategic storage and give two-third of the oil to it for free. India is building underground storages at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Mangalore and Padur in Karnataka to store about 5.33 million tonnes of crude oil.

Another pact was signed for creating a framework for facilitating participation of UAE's institutional investors in India's infrastructure sector while a separate agreement provides for cooperation in the insurance sector.

A total of seven pacts were signed between the two sides out of which four were inked in presence of Modi and Al Nahyan. Another pact between Dubai Economic Council and Export Import Bank of India will be signed in Mumbai Friday Feb 12,2016

UAE has a sovereign wealth fund of around USD 800 billion and India hopes to attract a sizable investment from it in several key sectors.
The MoUs signed will also provide for cooperation in areas of skill development, space and cultural exchanges.