Abu Dhabi, Dec 15 (AHN) Amitabh Prasad, Joint Secretary (International Cooperation) at the Ministry of Defence, met UAE's Assistant Under Secretary of Defence Affairs, Ali Al Ahmed, on the sidelines of the 16th India-UAE Joint Commission Meeting on Monday, with discussions focusing on strengthening bilateral defence cooperation.

In a statement on X, the Directorate of Public Relations, Ministry of Defence, stated, "Joint Secretary (International Cooperation) Shri Amitabh Prasad met Assistant Under Secretary of Defence Affairs, UAE MoD, Mr Ali Al Ahmed, on the sidelines of the 16th India-UAE Joint Commission Meeting. The discussions focused on further deepening and expanding bilateral defence cooperation."

External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar will co-chair the 16th Joint Commission and 5th Strategic Dialogue in Abu Dhabi on Monday with Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs following his participation in Sir Bani Yas Forum in the UAE, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had confirmed earlier in the day.

On Sunday, EAM Jaishankar met Belgium's Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prevot on the sidelines of the Sir Bani Yas Forum 2025 in the UAE.

Following their meeting, EAM Jaishankar, in a post on X, wrote, "Good to meet DPM and FM Maxime Prevot of Belgium on the sidelines of Sir Bani Yas Forum 2025."

The EAM also met several European ministers and took to X to share details of his interactions with them.

"Great to be with European colleagues DPM and FM Xavier Bettel of Luxembourg, DPM and FM Radoslaw Sikorski of Poland and FM Baiba Braze of Latvia," EAM Jaishankar posted on X.

He also met Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty at the Sir Bani Yas Forum. On Saturday, the EAM met UK Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy on the sidelines of the Sir Bani Yas Forum.

This is EAM Jaishankar's second visit to the UAE in 2025. During his earlier visit in January, EAM Jaishankar called on President Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed and discussed the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries and regional and international developments of mutual interest.

He had also met the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khaled Bin Mohamed Bin Zayed and recalled the landmark visit of the Crown Prince to India in September 2024 and discussed avenues for future partnership between India and the UAE. He also held a meeting with the Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

EAM Jaishankar and his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed held a bilateral meeting, where they discussed bilateral ties and exchanged views on regional and global issues. During his visit, he was the Chief Guest at the first edition of the Raisina Middle East Conference organised by Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in Abu Dhabi and delivered the keynote address at the inaugural session of the event on January 28.