Dubai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in the UAE on Friday for a discussion on bilateral and regional issues with top leadership of the nation.
PM Modi reached UAE's capital Abu Dhabi from Paris on the second leg of his three-nation tour to France, UAE and Bahrain.
Also read: PM Modi on Infra friendship: Chants of Ram echo in Paris, climate change solution by 2021
During the visit, PM Modi will discuss bilateral, regional and international matters of mutual interest with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and also launch RuPay card to expand the network of cashless transactions abroad.
From Abu Dhabi, the Prime Minister will then visit Bahrain where he will hold talks with King Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and also see the formal beginning of the re-development of the temple of Shreenathji - the oldest in the Gulf region - before returning to France on Sunday to attend the G7 Summit meetings.
Also read: PM Modi, French President Macron hold marathon talks
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Bahrain is significant as it will be the first visit of an Indian Prime Minister to the country. He would also meet and interact with the Indian diaspora during the visit.
On Friday, Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with his French counterpart Edouard Philippe and discussed issues of bilateral and mutual interests to further boost the comprehensive strategic partnership.
Also read: Donald Trump ‘ready to assist’ India and Pakistan over Kashmir if both countries insist
He also met UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay and addressed the Indian community at the UNESCO headquarters after inaugurating a memorial at the foothills of Mont Blanc in honour of the victims of two Air India crashes in France in the 1950s and 1960s, in which several Indians, including Homi J Bhabha, regarded as the father of India's nuclear programme, were killed.