Look: 3 generations of Dubai leaders in India; how they built strong bilateral ties
- AsiaWorld
- April 12, 2025
Three generations of Dubai’s ruling Maktoum family have now visited India since 1974, fostering deeper connections and building stronger ties between both nations.
From Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum to Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, the leaders of the emirate have made several trips to the South Asian country across decades.
The first visit made by a Dubai royal to New Delhi was when Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the then Ruler of Dubai, met President Dr Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed in 1974.
During that visit, Sheikh Rashid and his delegation took a trip to Agra and saw the iconic mausoleum, the Taj Mahal. In the picture below, a younger Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, can be seen candidly smiling and looking back while seated next to Sheikh Rashid.
Then, in 2007, when Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum visited India, he met with Dr Manmohan Singh at Hyderabad Palace in New Delhi.
There, Dr Singh praised the laws and regulations governing general labour rights in the UAE, and described the country as hospitable and safe not just for the Indian labour force but for all residents.
Just three years later, in 2010, Sheikh Mohammed made another short visit to New Delhi, where he met with then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh again. They discussed scaling bilateral economic relations, including improving collaboration in finance and banking.
In 2014, Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai, took an unofficial trip to India and dived with the world’s only swimming elephant!
Calling it an “unusual, yet incredible feeling”, the royal took to Instagram to share a spectacular image where he can be seen swimming underwater with ‘Rajan’, the elephant.
Now, in 2025, Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai, is continuing this tradition by meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
After meeting the Indian leader, he took to X to share that the relationship between both nations was one “built on trust, shaped by history, and driven by our shared vision for a future of opportunity, innovation, and sustainable prosperity”.
His two-day trip to the South Asian country, taking place at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will conclude on April 9.
