India offers support for peace in West Asia

India is ready to extend all possible support to bring peace in West Asia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday, during his talks with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, as both sides signed agreements to firm up strategic collaborations in the areas of energy, defence and technology.

The UAE has also announced investments worth USD 5 billion in India, Modi said.

The Modi-Al Nahyan meeting took place shortly after the prime minister landed in the Gulf nation in the first leg of his five-nation tour that also includes four European countries.

The UAE was a roughly two-and-a-half-hour stopover for the prime minister, following which he left for the Netherlands.

"We condemn the attacks on the UAE," Modi said in his opening remarks in the meeting with the UAE leader.

The UAE, which hosts a prominent US military base, has been at the receiving end of Iranian strikes during the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran that started on February 28.

Modi further said, "The way UAE has been targeted is not acceptable" but "the way UAE has handled the current situation with restraint is praiseworthy."

The prime minister highlighted how the impact of the West Asian conflict is being felt globally, adding: "India is ready to extend all possible support to bring peace in West Asia."