External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held discussion with his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan

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

Jaishankar landed in Abu Dhabi on Sunday with a focus on promoting bilateral economic cooperation. His visit to the United Arab Emirates comes amid growing geo-political developments in the region, especially 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.

As reported by the UAE’s official WAM news agency, the two leaders talked about the ways to develop and improve bilateral cooperation in all domains, in a way that will fulfil the goals of the leadership of India and the UAE and serve their peoples.

Stressing the historic ties between the two nations, Sheikh Abdullah said that the UAE-India strategic partnership offers to create more opportunities for an increase in commercial, economic, cultural and other fields.

They also considered the latest COVID-19 developments, the two countries’ attempts to contain its repercussions, and the global efforts to provide vaccines to all countries, WAM reported.

Sheikh Abdullah also appreciated the cooperation between the two countries to alleviate the consequences of the pandemic, it said.

The UAE foreign minister visited New Delhi on February 26 and held talks with Jaishankar.

Jaishankar 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 matched with the trip of his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi, amid efforts by the Gulf emirate to help backchannel talks to restart dialogue between New Delhi and Islamabad.