Eye on the Middle East | As India-UAE ties wax and wax, a nuclear star on the horizon

While India and UAE (and France) have discussed nuclear energy cooperation before (first in 2022), the ENEC-NPCI deal is unprecedented...

While Modi has visited the UAE at least seven times having met the UAEs second and third Presidents this was the Abu Dhabi Crown Princes first visit to India..

The agreement that stood out however, was an MoU between the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited and Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) for the operations and maintenance of the UAEs Barakah Nuclear Power Plant..

For MBS, who spearheaded the unprecedented initiatives to diversify the Kingdoms oil-reliant economy, the challenges of securing a civilian nuclear programme are compounded by its resistance to normalisation of ties with Israel for which Washington is coaxing Riyadh with more security and economic incentives; even dangling the nuclear energy card..

While UAE signed three substantial MoUs with China in 2023 to this end, any agreement with India is unique in that it testifies to a non-NPT nuclear weapons states ability to project its expertise in operating nuclear power plants, having long grown out of its nuclear pariah mould by leaps and bounds..