New Delhi: Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Monday planted a sapling at Rajghat, marking the first time that three generations of leaders from any nation have shown the gesture to honour the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi.
Al Nahyan, on a two-day visit to India, paid tributes to the father of the nation and planted the Amaltas (Cassia Fistula) sapling after holding wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Crown Prince is the third generation leader from the United Arab Emirates to plant a sapling at Rajghat in 30 years. The two saplings planted by the UAE leaders in 1992 and 2016 have flourished into lush trees and the Crown Prince also watered both of them, an official said.
In 1992, Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding father of the UAE, planted an Amaltas sapling during his visit to India.
In 2016, his son, Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the current President of the UAE, continued this tradition by planting a Molshri (Mimusops Elengi) sapling.
"The Crown Prince has planted an Amaltas sapling, further strengthening this legacy," an official in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
This is the first time in the history of Rajghat that three generations of leaders from a single nation have planted trees honouring the legacy of Gandhi, he said.
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It also signified the deep-rooted and growing relationship between India and the UAE, the official said.
India and the UAE share a multifaceted relationship of which sustainability partnership forms a key pillar.
This special bond is highlighted through a unique tradition of tree planting by the UAE leaders at Rajghat, said another official.
In the talks, PM Modi and Crown Prince Al Nahyan expressed satisfaction over the substantial progress achieved in the India-UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and discussed opportunities to further deepen the ties.
They acknowledged the success of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and the recent entry into force of the Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT).
They also underscored the need to explore new areas of untapped potential, particularly in nuclear energy, critical minerals, green hydrogen, artificial intelligence and cutting-edge technologies, the MEA said.
The India-UAE ties have witnessed a major upswing in the last few years.
Following the landmark visit of Modi to the UAE in August 2015, bilateral relations between the two countries were elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
Both countries signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in February 2022 and a Local Currency Settlement (LCS) System in July 2023 to promote the use of Indian Rupee and AED (United Arab Emirates Dirham) for cross-border transactions.
The two countries are among each other's top trading partners with a bilateral trade of about USD 85 billion in 2022-23, according to official data.
The UAE is also among the top four investors in India in terms of foreign direct investments in 2022-23.
About 3.5 million strong and vibrant Indian community forms the largest expatriate group in the UAE.
The UAE was invited as a special invitee for G20 during India's Presidency of the grouping.
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)