By IANS
New Delhi : The ninth meeting of the India-United Arab Emirates (UAE) Joint Commission for Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation, to be held here June 5-6, will discuss a wide range of issues of mutual cooperation – from trade and investment to culture and heritage.
UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan will lead a high-level 25-member official delegation at the meeting while the Indian side will be led by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
Though there is no fixed agenda, the discussions will cover the entire gamut – commerce, investment opportunities, security, culture, labour, energy, civil aviation and tourism.
The UAE delegation is also expected to call on Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath.
Though the joint commission was set up way back in January 1975, it has met only eight times. The last meeting was held in September 1994.
However, with ties between India and UAE getting closer, meetings between the two sides are getting more regular.
During the visit of Prime Minister and Vice President of UAE and Ruler of Dubai Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to India in March this year, officials from both the countries discussed a number of issues for mutual cooperation.
There are around 1.5 million expatriate Indians in the UAE.