UAE Assures Safety of Indians Amid West Asia Tensions

Safety of Indians living in UAE is a 'priority': Envoy

PTI, March 21, 2026, New Delhi: The UAE has assured India that the safety of Indians living in the Gulf country is its "priority", stressing that they are protected and treated like family, especially amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia which has seen the emirate facing attacks from Iran.

UAE Ambassador to India Abdulnasser Alshaali also hailed India's move to co-sponsor a UN resolution that condemned Iran's attacks against Gulf countries, saying it was a statement of principle from a country that the UAE considers a strategic partner and friend, at a moment when it mattered most.

The UAE will remember that India was among those "who stood with us first", he said.

"The safety of Indian nationals in the UAE is a priority. They are protected and are treated as family, including the 200 nationalities living in the country in peace and harmony," Alshaali told PTI Videos.

He said that UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited five injured civilians in the hospital: two Emiratis, one Indian, one Sudanese and one Iranian. He said: "They are all our responsibility."

"Four million Indians live in the UAE; they are not a statistic. They are the son from Kerala sending money home each month so his mother can pay her medical bills, the engineer from Hyderabad building infrastructure that will stand for a century, the teacher from Tamil Nadu shaping the futures of Emirati children," he said.

In 2024, the UAE was the second-largest source of remittances to India, totalling USD 21.6 billion.

"Those four million Indians represent families in every state of India whose livelihoods depend on a stable and secure UAE. Their safety is a personal responsibility that this country's leadership carries every day," he said.

"What I would say to Indian families is this: the UAE's commitment to protecting the people who have built their lives here is absolute."

On Iranian attacks, Alshaali said the UAE's integrated air defence systems have intercepted a vast majority of incoming threats and the country "remains safe, secure, and well-protected".

He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the UAE President before any resolution was drafted, before any multilateral statement and before any formal diplomatic process had begun.

"That call was received as an act of brotherhood. India then co-sponsored UN Security Council Resolution 2817 -- a statement of principle from a country that the UAE considers a strategic partner and friend, at a moment it mattered most. The UAE will remember who stood with us. India was among those who stood with us first," he said.

The UN Security Council Resolution 2817, co-sponsored by India, sent a "clear and unified message that the international community will not tolerate attacks on our sovereignty or the deliberate targeting of civilians and critical infrastructure", he said.