One of the key results of a two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by Indian Foreign Minister Natwar Singh was an agreement to boost economic cooperation through reviving a joint economic commission. Singh yesterday wound up the visit after talks with President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahayan and other top UAE leaders which he described as fruitful and having further cemented bilateral relations. Sheikh Khalifa accepted an invitation from Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to visit India. The date for visit will be decided later, a joint statement said. Economic cooperation assumed center-stage of Singh's discussions here. He said after the meetings in Abu Dhabi late on Monday that the two sides discussed joint ventures in areas like energy and other core industrial sectors. India is seeking to go far beyond the traditional buyer-seller relationship and create a strong economic partnership between the two countries, according to a press statement published today. Singh, on his first tour of the Gulf as foreign minister, told the Indian community in Abu Dhabi in a meeting that the UAE has expressed interest in investing in India, while Indian companies were interested in joint ventures in the hydrocarbon/ petrochemical sectors in the UAE.
