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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will undertake a six-day official visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, and Italy starting May 15 to boost India’s bilateral ties and cooperation in energy, defence, economy and trade amid the West Asia crisis.
Addressing a special media briefing here on Wednesday evening, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Secretary (West) Sibi George said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi will undertake a five‑nation tour from 15–20 May, covering the UAE and four European countries — the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, and Italy.”
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He stated that in the UAE on 15 May, PM Modi will meet President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to discuss bilateral ties, energy cooperation and regional issues.
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George remarked that India and the UAE share a comprehensive strategic partnership, with over 4.5 million Indians living in the UAE.
Speaking on PM Modi’s UAE visit and the discussion on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), George said, “We have a concrete agenda covering the full spectrum of bilateral relations with the UAE, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, and other Nordic partners. This includes discussions and engagement with the business community.”
“In the UAE, the visit follows recent developments around OPEC pipelines. With the Netherlands, semiconductors are a key area of cooperation, and discussions will include Advanced Semiconductor and IMEC-related topics will also be covered and briefed accordingly,” he said.
Meanwhile, during the briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “Over the past several years, the Prime Minister has visited the UAE seven times, and the President of the UAE has visited our country five times. Apart from this, several members of their royal family have also visited India. So, you can understand the kind of partnership this is and how much importance we attach to it.”
George further said that after concluding his visit to the UAE, PM Modi will visit the Netherlands from May 15 to 17.
“From May 15–17, PM Modi will be in the Netherlands — his second visit after 2017 — at a crucial moment in bilateral relations. This also includes the third India‑Nordic Summit, focusing on trade, investment, green technology, and innovation. The visit to the four European countries comes in the backdrop of the India-EU FTA that we finalised earlier this year,” he remarked.
Following the Dutch leg, PM Modi will pivot to Scandinavia, visiting Sweden and Norway, nations viewed by New Delhi as “key to New Delhi’s transition to green and emerging technologies.”
A major centrepiece of the tour is the Prime Minister’s arrival in Norway for the third India-Nordic Summit in Oslo on May 18.
This platform, which was originally “postponed last year in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terrorist attack,” serves as a diplomatic recovery after the 2025 trip was “cancelled due to Operation Sindoor.”
Reinvigorating this partnership, the gathering will concentrate on “trade, investment, green technology, and innovation.”
The Nordic engagement is further bolstered by Norway’s existing free trade agreement with India, which “came into effect in October 2025,” providing a robust foundation for new pacts in “health and digital public infrastructure.”
PM Modi will wrap up his five-nation visit with a visit to Italy between May 19 and 20, further expanding India’s diplomatic reach across both Europe and the Middle East.
In this final leg, the two nations look to “deepen engagements in defence and strategic sectors” following the Italian Defence Minister’s recent visit to New Delhi.
Italy is also aggressively positioning its ports as a vital “gateway to Europe” within the ambitious India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).
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