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India's Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Deepak Mittal, on Thursday said the UAE's evolving energy strategy, including its recent decision to exit OPEC bloc, could open new avenues for strengthening its role in India's energy security, noting that the Gulf nation's recent shift in its energy policy could further expand cooperation in production, infrastructure investment, and diversification of energy sources.
Speaking to ANI ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Gulf country on May 15, Mittal said the India-UAE energy partnership has become increasingly strategic, moving beyond a traditional buyer-seller relationship. He added that India is simultaneously expanding its own energy infrastructure, including pipeline networks and strategic storage for crude, LPG, and LNG. "The UAE has been a very significant and important partner for India in our energy security. The UAE is the fourth largest supplier of crude last year to India, meeting nearly 11 per cent of our requirements. It has been the third-largest supplier of LNG over the past six to seven years," Mittal said. "It has taken a more strategic kind of thing. And I think the decision by the UAE, the recent decision to come out of OPEC is something where they would also look at newer opportunities, expanding production. I think that also opens up newer opportunities for how the UAE would deepen and play a greater role in India's energy security out there, whether it is supplies or whether it's investment into our infrastructure. Because the Government of India has provided high priority to looking at how we can have a greater network, even for the supply of piped natural gas, we are building upon it. We are enhancing our own strategic storage, not just of crude, but we are also now looking at and focusing on building new strategic storage for gas, LPG, and LNG," he added. Earlier this month, the United Arab Emirates announced its withdrawal from the OPEC and OPEC+ groupings, marking a definitive end to decades of economic deference to Saudi Arabia. He highlighted that the UAE remains a key partner in India's energy ecosystem across crude oil, LNG, and LPG supplies and further noted that Indian companies and the UAE's national oil company ADNOC have signed long-term contracts for more than 4.5 million metric tonnes of LNG. "The UAE is the largest supplier of LPG to India, meeting nearly 40 per cent of our demands. It also provides a very important market for our petroleum, oil and lubricant exports. Over USD 6 billion in trade was recorded last year," he added. Mittal also underscored the UAE's participation in India's strategic petroleum reserves, calling it a key pillar of energy cooperation. "The UAE is perhaps the first and the only country so far that has participated in the strategic petroleum reserves of India with over 5 million barrels of crude storage in India, which provides strength and resilience to our energy partnership," he said. Mittal said energy cooperation will remain a central pillar of India-UAE ties during the upcoming high-level engagements. "This is a partnership; energy would be a very important theme as we go ahead, including during this visit," he added. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the UAE, one of the key areas of focus will be energy security. According to sources, two important MoUs in the areas of LPG and Strategic Petroleum Reserves are likely to be concluded during this visit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be undertaking a five-nation tour from 15 to 20 May, which includes the United Arab Emirates and four European nations: the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, and Italy. The Prime Minister will begin his visit in the UAE on May 15, where he will meet the President of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. They will exchange views on bilateral relations - in particular, energy cooperation - as well as regional and international issues of mutual interest. (ANI)
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