Abu Dhabi’s First Hindu Temple To Be Inaugurated By Prime Minister Modi During His Visit Next Month

The first Hindu temple ever constructed in Abu Dhabi will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to the United Arab Emirates as part of his West Asia tour starting 9 February, the Economic Times has reported.

According to the report, the UAE currently has only one Hindu temple, which is located in Dubai. By some accounts, UAE is home to as many as 2.6 million Indians, who form around 30 per cent of the total population of the country.

Around 20,000 square metres of land was allotted for the construction of a temple in Abu Dhabi’s Al Wathba during Modi’s visit to the oil-rich nation in 2015.

Prime Minister Modi will land in Abu Dhabi on 10 February and travel to Dubai the next day. He will address a large gathering of Indians living in the country in Dubai Opera on 11 February sixth World Government Summit, a three-day event in Dubai to which India has been invited as the guest country.

India’s relations with the UAE have been on the upswing since the Prime Minister’s visit in 2015. Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyanthe was the chief guest at the 68th Republic Day celebrations. The UAE has operationalised a USD 75 billion sovereign fund for India. India is UAE's number one trading partner and the annual trade currently stands at around USD 53 billion.

Prime Minister Modi will be visiting two other countries in West Asia - Palestine and Oman. He will be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Palestine in seven decades. The visit to Palestine comes after Modi visited Israel last year and hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on six-day visit to India between 14-19 January.