UAE-India partnerships demonstrates how cross-border collaboration can strengthen communities, drive innovation and shape more resilient urban spaces - locally and globally.
At this year’s Raisina Dialogue, hosted by India’s Ministry of External Affairs and the Observer Research Foundation, one thing was clear: the UAE–India relationship has evolved far beyond its traditional bricks-and-mortar foundation. Today, it is a dynamic engine for technology, trade, agriculture and urban innovation.
With India’s population projected to increase by over 200 million, and the UAE’s population by over 4 million by 2050, according to the United Nations' World Population Prospects, this partnership is setting the pace for how data, technology and commercial collaboration can cope with such rapid urbanisation.
For its part, the UAE has emerged as a pioneer in urban intelligence, with Expo City Dubai - a living legacy of Expo 2020 - showcasing data-driven governance, nature-based solutions for urban systems management, adaptive reuse of assets, and equitable, people-centric urban growth.
Yet, while the UAE raises the bar for urban resilience, India brings vital lessons in pragmatic connectivity. India’s mastery of last-mile rail networks, linking remote communities with major urban hubs, offers a playbook for the Gulf region as it builds its first unified railway network to boost trade, logistics and passenger travel across cities in the region.
At its core, however, this partnership is about more than technology transfer. It’s a transformative alliance, committed to advancing AI, sustainable trade and self-sufficient communities— all while narrowing socio-economic divides rather than widening them.
Recent milestones reinforce this vision. In February, India and the UAE exchanged eight agreements, including major bilateral investments in urban development. Meanwhile, the 2023 Memorandum of Understanding on Industry and Advanced Technology focuses on joint research to build institutional strength and foundational skills - ensuring that investments support a just and sustainable transition.
Education and knowledge exchange sit at the heart of this strategy. Abu Dhabi now hosts the first international campus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), while the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) is preparing to open its first overseas campus at Expo City Dubai in September, with a strong focus on sustainability, international trade and innovation.
This academic bridge will fuel a two-way exchange of urban solutions. Cities like Bangalore — India’s own Silicon Valley — and Pune, a hub for IT excellence, are well-positioned to draw inspiration from the insights gathered from 200,000 live data points across Expo City, which inform everything from traffic flows and energy consumption to public health and citizen engagement. By tapping into this real-time intelligence, Indian cities can accelerate their transition towards smarter, greener urban ecosystems — while contributing their own innovations in digital infrastructure, AI, and civic tech back to the global conversation.
Conversely, Bangalore’s leadership in AI and Pune’s digital strengths could accelerate predictive urban planning and seamless smart city rollouts across the UAE. By harnessing each other’s strengths, both countries are powerfully positioned to tackle challenges like pollution, congestion and resource management, while unlocking new engines of economic growth.
Through these collaborations, Indian and Emirati cities are not just reshaping their own urban landscapes - they are setting new standards for the future of cities worldwide.
This spirit of city diplomacy will take centre stage at the upcoming 2025 Asia Pacific Cities Summit & Mayors’ Forum, hosted at Expo City Dubai in October - a landmark event where urban leaders will gather to exchange ideas, forge partnerships and craft the cities of tomorrow.
The transformative power of city diplomacy is one of the key topics that will be interrogated at the event as changemakers and thought leaders discuss environmental solutions, city governance, digital transformation and quality of living at 2025APCS.
As UAE–India collaborations prove, city diplomacy isn’t just an idea - it’s a catalyst for real-world change, and 2025APCS will be where the next generation of urban partnerships take shape.
