“Mutual trust, co-existence and acceptance of differences characterise the success story of the Indo-UAE relationship; we respect each other, we accept each other,” observed Indian author and politician Dr Shashi Tharoor. He was speaking at a programme on the India-UAE strategic partnership from a cultural aspect, hosted by the National Media Council (NMC) at the Sharjah International Book Fair.

Hailing the stupendous success of the SIBF 2018, Dr Tharoor complimented the Ruler of Sharjah and his entire team for having the breadth of vision to conceive and execute the celebration of writing and reading on such a grand scale.

Moving over to the subject of his address and discussion, namely, India-UAE strategic partnership from a cultural aspect, and steering clear of political debate, Dr Tharoor said that Indo-UAE relations have grown in importance and intensity in recent years even as the strategic relationship between India and the UAE has grown much closer.

The Arab World, Dr Tharoor said, constitutes an integral part of India’s extended neighbourhood and is a region of critical importance to India, in political, strategic, security and economic terms.

Stressing the importance of interdependence, Dr Tharoor said he was conscious of the extent to which UAE-India ties predate the emergence of the two countries as modern nation states.

Describing the ages-old UAE-India relationship as ‘a story of success and hope’, Dr Tharoor said: “There are very few parts of the world where such an astonishing diversity of expatriates live and thrive in such large numbers,” stressing that the economic prosperity and social stability of the UAE shows there is no clash of civilisations here.

“On the contrary, this country only shows how beautifully there can be co-existence of civilisations,” he noted.

The Indo-UAE relationship he stressed, should be worked on, sustained and nurtured, like any relationship, he said.

Space exploration

In answer to a question on collaboration in energy and space, Dr Tharoor said with India proving its world-class capability in the field of space exploration and research, the UAE should not look beyond India as a partner in its space programme. 

Similarly, India could benefit from the UAE, which had made more advancement in solar energy than India.

 The two nations would do well to cross-collaborate in these two fields, he added.