The eagerly anticipated ‘Ahlan Modi’ community event, set to feature Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, has undergone a significant scale-down owing to adverse weather conditions in the UAE, news agency PTI quoted official involved in preparations as saying.
Inclement weather, marked by heavy rain and flashes of lightning across the UAE overnight, prompted the decision to scale down the ‘Ahlam Modi’ (Welcome Modi in Arabic) event.
The UAE has experienced traffic snarls and waterlogging across the country due to adverse weather conditions, according to reports.
The official involved in the preparations for one of the biggest diaspora events of PM Modi at the Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi revealed that the weather conditions have forced authorities to reduce participation strength from 80,000 to 35,000 people.
“Preparations for one of the biggest diaspora events of Prime Minister Modi at the Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi were going fine, but the participation was reduced from 80,000 to 35,000 because of the weather,” community leader Sajeev Purushothaman told PTI.
Originally, 60,000 people had confirmed their attendance through a registration website, designed exclusively for Indian-origin participants. Between 35,000 and 40,000 people are expected to attend the event, with some of them presenting cultural programs.
Purushothaman added that over 500 buses would be operating, and more than 1,000 volunteers would be helping at the venue.
According to a source at the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, 45,000 people are expected to attend the public event where the Prime Minister will address the gathering.
Safety alerts were issued and speed limits were reduced across the UAE due to heavy rain, hail, thunder, and lightning. Videos that are doing rounds on social media showed thunderstorms in the capital city and Abu Dhabi, with unconfirmed reports of snowfall in Al Ain.
PM Modi will start his two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday. On February 14, he will inaugurate the BAPS temple in Abu Dhabi as part of his visit.
Modi will inaugurate the ‘Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha’ (BAPS) Mandir, the first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi. He will also address the Indian community in the UAE at an event in Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) beginning today marks the beginning of a new era in relations between the two countries. During the visit, Modi will hold a bilateral meeting with the President of the UAE- Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
The two leaders will talk about ways to enhance, expand, and enhance the strategic partnership between the countries and exchange opinions on regional and international issues that are of mutual interest. This will be the fifth meeting between Modi and the President of the UAE in the last eight months.
Briefing media in New Delhi, Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said the Prime Minister will also meet with the Vice President, Prime Minister, and Defence Minister of UAE and participate in the World Government Summit 2024 to be held in Dubai and deliver a special keynote address at the Summit.
Modi will inaugurate the ‘Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha’ (BAPS) Mandir, the first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi. He will also address the Indian community in the UAE at an event in Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi.
This will be Prime Minister Modi’s seventh visit to the UAE since 2015 and the third in the last eight months. Strong political, cultural, and economic ties underpin warm, close, and multifaceted relations between India and the UAE, as stated by the Ministry of External Affairs.
Following the landmark visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the UAE in August 2015, bilateral relations between the two countries have been elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Both countries signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in February 2022 and a Local Currency Settlement (LCS) System in July last year to promote the use of the Indian Rupee and United Arab Emirates Dirham for cross-border transactions.
The two countries are among each other’s top trading partners with a bilateral trade of about 85 billion dollars in 2022-23. UAE is also among the top 4 investors in India in terms of foreign direct investments in 2022-23.
After completing his UAE visit, Prime Minister Modi will also visit Doha, Qatar tomorrow afternoon. According to the Foreign Secretary, Modi will have a two-way meeting with the Amir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad, during his visit.
At present, there is a significant Indian population in the Gulf nation, with approximately 3.5 million individuals making up a significant portion of the Indian workforce in the UAE.
