UAE leadership marks India's 80th Independence Day with official messages
President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and other UAE leaders sent congratulatory messages to India's President and Prime Minister as the country celebrated its 80th Independence Day, reflecting strong bilateral ties underpinned by substantial trade and investment relationships.
UAE Leadership Marks India's 80th Independence Day with Official Messages
President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan extended congratulations to President Droupadi Murmu of the Republic of India as the country celebrated its 80th Independence Day on August 15, 2026, marking 79 years since gaining freedom from British colonial rule in 1947.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court, sent similar messages to President Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion.
The congratulatory messages reflect the deepening strategic partnership between the two nations, built on robust economic ties and extensive people-to-people connections. The Indian community in the UAE numbers approximately 4.39 million people, representing the largest expatriate community and accounting for around 38 percent of the UAE's total population.
Growing Economic Partnership
The diplomatic gestures come months after President Sheikh Mohamed's visit to India in January 2026, during which both countries committed to doubling bilateral trade to USD 200 billion and signed a 10-year liquefied natural gas supply agreement. The visit also produced a Letter of Intent to establish a Strategic Defence Partnership Framework Agreement, expanding cooperation in the defence industry.
Bilateral trade between India and UAE reached USD 101.25 billion in fiscal year 2025-26, surpassing the USD 100 billion milestone for the second consecutive year under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement signed in 2022. The UAE ranks as India's third-largest trading partner and second-largest export destination, while India is the UAE's second-largest trading partner.
The UAE has also emerged as the seventh-largest overseas investor in India, with cumulative foreign direct investment inflows of USD 25.59 billion from April 2000 to March 2026.
Strategic Cooperation
Beyond bilateral engagement, both countries participate in key multilateral platforms including BRICS, I2U2 involving India, Israel, UAE and the United States, and the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor. These frameworks demonstrate how India-UAE relations extend beyond bilateral ties to strategic cooperation in regional and international forums.
India's Independence Day commemorates the end of nearly 200 years of British rule, achieved through the Indian Independence Act passed by the British Parliament in July 1947.
