ABU DHABI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the first temple in the UAE during his two-day official visit starting Tuesday.
According to Arab media, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday on his third official visit to the United Arab Emirates in the last 8 months and the seventh since 2015.
In this two-day visit, the Indian Prime Minister will meet high officials including UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Vice President and will inaugurate the first temple in the Middle East in Abu Dhabi.
The decision to build this temple was taken during the Indian Prime Minister’s visit to UAE in 2015. 13.5 acres (55 thousand square meters) of land for the temple was provided as a gift by the then Crown Prince and current President Muhammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
The foundation stone for the construction of this temple was laid on April 21, 2019 by the spiritual leader of Swaminarayan Sanstha, Mahant Swami Maharaj Shilaniyas Vidhi, in the presence of UAE officials.
The 7 peaks of the temple represent the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates. The hundreds of tons of stones used in the construction of this temple were cut by skilled artisans in India and then shipped to the UAE.
The stones chosen for the temple were from Rajasthan, which has the peculiarity of giving a cooling sensation even in extreme heat.
The length of the temple is 262 feet, width 180 feet and height 108 feet while it has 410 pillars, 12 pyramidal peaks, 2 domes. The temple is constructed in such a way that it will not be affected by a magnitude 7 earthquake.
During his visit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also participate in the World Government Summit 2024 in Dubai, in which the heads of other Gulf countries including Turkey and Qatar are also expected to participate.
Trade relations between India and the UAE have grown significantly in recent years, with bilateral trade reaching $85 billion since the two countries entered into the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) on May 1, 2022.
It may be noted that UAE is among the top 4 major investor countries in India in terms of foreign direct investment in 2022-23.
