‘Building power plants’: How India pitches nuclear cooperation with UAE

Dubai: India is seeking to expand its strategic partnership with the UAE into emerging sectors such as nuclear energy, critical minerals, and genomics, according to Indian Ambassador to the UAE, Sunjay Sudhir.
Speaking at the Indo-UAE Conclave hosted by the India Today Group in collaboration with UAE India Business Council-UAE Chapter (UIBC-UC), Sudhir highlighted how the bilateral relationship is evolving beyond traditional areas into fields vital for future growth and sustainability.

“Some of the areas we’ve already started working on – and others that are relatively new in our engagement, include the nuclear field and critical minerals,” he said during a fireside chat with Raj Chengappa, Group Editorial Director (Publishing), India Today Group.

On nuclear collaboration, Chengappa asked if India was going to assist the UAE in building power plants.

“Building power plants, servicing power plants – because this is the only country in the GCC,” Sudhir said, noting that the UAE meets 25 per cent of its energy requirements from the Barakah Nuclear Plant – the first multi-unit operational nuclear plant in the Arab world.

Separately, in September 2024, Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) inked an agreement to exchange expertise and enhance potential cooperation in various fields such as supply chain development, human resource development, provision of nuclear consultancy services, future investment. It marked the first-of-its-kind bilateral deal in the nuclear sector.

‘A lot we can do’
“There’s a lot we can do to support their nuclear programme. There is a lot which we can do with them to support our nuclear programme,” Sudhir said referring to developing small modular reactors for energy-intensive sectors like railways.
Turning to critical minerals, Sudhir underscored the urgent need for India to secure a stable supply of these essential inputs for technology and clean energy sectors.

“UAE entities, in partnership with other countries, are [aggressively] acquiring assets. These minerals are not needed in large quantities by the UAE, but if we can work out a reliable supply line with them, it will help us,” he said. “We have signed some agreements and started joint efforts in this direction.”

In the field of genomics and precision medicine, Sudhir highlighted the complementarity between India's vast human resources and the UAE's technological infrastructure.
He also pointed to space cooperation as another success story.
“We’ve grown organically in the space sector, but the UAE has leapfrogged, sending a person into space for six months. There’s great potential for further collaboration in this domain.”