DUBAI: Continuing his journey to take India to commanding heights in the comity of nations, Modi arrived in Dubai to a grand marhaba that was a first of its kind in the Arab world, on an ecstatic Monday evening, exalted by a cultural gala. Beating the high risk boiling heat of a declining summer with paper fans and bottles of water, an Indian community, mostly composed of workers having come to the desert looking for their bread brazing all adversities, was present in houseful numbers to redo a Madison.
The topics the Indian Prime Minister touched upon in an hour at the sports stadium here ranged from the usual to the unusual, the humble roots of the expatriates in an intimate style yet in light splits of digression and camaraderie.
Seeing in Dubai a mini india, he spoke of initiatives to address "your grievances" like the launch of a Madad portal to register their problems.
Beginning with the exhortation of “Bharat mata ki jai”, their new Prime Minister lauded the irony of contribution of the diaspora, which, according to him, made India proud and, more realistically and courageously acknowledged that their sweat is contributing to fill
the Indian Government's coffers.
He truly said that his visit will help build UAE's as well as other countries' trust in India, the greatest thing to achieve in international relations ever. Indicating a movement into a new dawn, yet interspersed with sarcasm, was his audacious jibe, "Every week, more than 700 flights land here from India. But it took 34 years for an Indian PM to come here." He seemed to say, let us start.
Taking a dramatic leap, Modi urged the crowd to give a standing ovation to the crown prince of Abu Dhabi - and the magic worked!
He was grateful to the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, for his rare gesture of coming to receive him with his five brothers at the airport. And, rightly sharing it, "This is an honour for 1.25 billion Indians."
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