India offers support for peace inWest Asia as PM Modi signs energyand defence deals with UAE

PTI, May 15, 2026, Abu Dhabi:India is ready to extend all possible support to bring peace in West Asia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday during his talks with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, as both sides signed agreements to firm up strategic collaborations in the areas of energy and defence.

The Modi-Al Nahyan meeting took place shortly after the Prime Minister landed in the Gulf nation in the first leg of his five-nation tour that also includes four European countries.

"We condemned the attacks on the UAE," Modi said in his opening remarks in the meeting with the UAE leader.

The UAE, which hosts a prominent US military base, has been at the receiving end of Iranian strikes during the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran.

The Prime Minister further said: "The way UAE has been targeted is not acceptable."

But "the way UAE has handled the current situation with restraint is praiseworthy", he said.

Modi highlighted how the impact of the West Asia conflict is being felt globally, adding: "India is ready to extend all possible support to bring peace in West Asia."

During the meeting, the two leaders inked some important agreements.

The Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited — a public sector company responsible for maintaining the country's strategic petroleum reserves — has signed a deal with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co aimed at "strategic collaboration", said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

The two leaders also signed a "strategic collaboration" pact in LPG, aimed at long-term supply of the most widely used cooking gas in India, economic stability and energy partnership.

The ongoing conflict in West Asia has heightened concerns in India over potential disruptions to crude oil and gas supplies, particularly through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route for the country's energy imports.

India and the UAE have also signed the framework for a strategic defence partnership aimed at strengthening defence industrial collaboration, boosting innovation and sharing of technology, and strengthening national and regional security, the MEA said.