Indian PM seeks trade, energy stability on UAE-Europe tour

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in the UAE escorted by military planes on Friday, as he begins a five-nation tour overshadowed by energy and supply-chain worries due to the Iran war.

Modi received a guard of honour and was welcomed by President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on his brief visit en route to the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Italy.

"I have come to my second home," Modi, a frequent visitor to the United Arab Emirates, home to 4.5 million Indians, told the president, calling the airforce escort "an honour".

Disruptions to Gulf shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz have sent oil and gas markets into a spin, raising pressure on energy importers such as India, which was forced to hike petrol and diesel prices on Friday.

"Keeping Hormuz free, open and safe is our highest priority, and in this matter adherence to international laws is essential," Modi said, in footage released by the Indian foreign ministry.

The UAE and India had reached strategic agreements on oil and gas, with Abu Dhabi pledging $5 billion in investments into India, the ministry said, without providing details.

"The visit has given a major boost to India's energy security," foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal posted on X.

Modi's trip reflects India's wider effort to diversify economic and strategic partnerships while positioning itself as a major manufacturing and technology hub.

The six-day tour comes after India and the European Union sealed a free trade agreement in January, dubbed by Modi the "mother of all deals".

The EU has long eyed India -- the world's most populous nation -- as a key market.

Modi's visit will "deepen India's partnership with Europe... particularly trade and investment ties in light of the recently concluded India-EU FTA", New Delhi's foreign ministry said.

Modi is also attending a Nordic summit in Oslo. It will be the first visit to Norway by an Indian prime minister in 43 years, showing growing engagement with Northern Europe, commentators said.

"For India, an engagement with the Nordic countries is strategically timed to position the country as a trusted economic, technological and clean energy partner in a rapidly changing global order," Anil Wadhwa, a retired Indian ambassador to Italy and Poland, told AFP.

"India stands to benefit from the diversification from China, and the recently concluded India-EU free trade agreement has already created momentum," he added.

- Energy security -

The Gulf region, pummelled by Iranian drone and missile attacks during the Iran war, remains India's primary source of oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

Modi's visit is also aimed at shoring up India's position across Gulf nations in the wake of conflict, which has fractured alliances in the region.

"A new international environment now prevails," K.C. Singh, former Indian ambassador to Iran and the UAE, told AFP.

"Cracks within the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council and open Iran-UAE confrontation have altered the geopolitics," he added.

"The United Arab Emirates is now openly aligning with the US and Israel. Saudi Arabia, the GCC's most powerful and populous member, has moved closer to Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey while maintaining its US outreach."

On Thursday, Modi met Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in New Delhi.

India, the world's third-largest oil buyer, normally sources about half of its crude through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been largely blocked by Iran since the war began in late February.

"India's priority... should be to move from a conventional buyer-seller energy relationship, to a broader strategic energy security partnership," Wadhwa said.

- Arctic shipping routes -

Modi travels to the Netherlands later on Friday, with discussions set to include increasing their $27.8 billion (23.7 billion euros) in bilateral trade, as well as defence, semiconductors, water, agriculture and health.

He heads to Sweden on Sunday, where he will address a European business leaders forum alongside EU chief Ursula von der Leyen, before travelling to Norway a day later to address an India-Nordic Summit.

India, which operates an Arctic research base on Norway's Svalbard island, is also tracking what the opening of Arctic sea routes driven by climate change means for its shipping.

"India's interest in the Arctic is not merely academic; the melting of polar ice has direct consequences for the Indian monsoon and our food security," Indian lawmaker Shashi Tharoor wrote in the Indian Express newspaper.

Modi's final leg will be Italy on May 19, where he will meet Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni -- with whom he reportedly has a close friendship.