ABU DHABI (TIP): Prime Minister Narendra Modi held wide-ranging talks with Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Saturday as the two sides signed five agreements including a historic pact awarding a consortium of Indian oil companies a 10% stake in offshore oil concession.

Modi, who arrived in Abu Dhabi from Jordan on the second leg of his three nation tour, was received by Mohammed Bin Zayed and other members of the Royal family at the airport.

The Prime Minister thanked the Crown Prince for the special gesture of receiving him at the airport and said his visit will have a positive impact on India-UAE ties.

An MOU between Indian Consortium (OVL, BPRL & IOCL) and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) was signed for the acquisition of a 10% participating interest in the Abu Dhabi’s offshore Lower Zakum Concession, a statement issued by the Indian embassy here said. The concession will be for 40 years from 2018 to 2057. 60% of the participating interest will be retained by ADNOC and remaining 30% will be awarded to other international oil companies, the statement said.

“This is the first Indian Investment in upstream oil sector of UAE, transforming the traditional buyer seller relationship to a long-term investor relationship,” it added. To cooperate in the field of manpower, India and the UAE signed an MoU that aims to institutionalise the collaborative administration of contractual employment of Indian workers in the Gulf country.

Under the MoU, both the sides will work to integrate their labour related eplatforms for ending the existing malpractices, combat trafficking and organise collaborative programs for education and awareness of contractual workers. An MoU for technical cooperation in railways was also signed between the two sides. The MoU aims at cooperation in infrastructure sector especially railways.

“The MoU will facilitate development of joint projects, knowledge sharing, joint research and technology transfer.

The MoU envisages formation of a Joint Working Group for institutionalising the cooperation mechanism,” the statement said.

To deepen bilateral cooperation in the field of finance, an MoU between Bombay Stock Exchange and Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange was also signed. It aims at enhancing cooperation between both the countries in financial services industry. The MoU would facilitate investment in financial markets by investors from both the countries. An MoU between government of Jammu and Kashmir and DP World was also signed to establish multi-modal logistics park and hub in Jammu comprising warehouses and specialised storage solutions.