India's Modi inaugurates major Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday inaugurated a major Hindu temple and the first in Abu Dhabi while on a two-day visit to the Gulf emirate.

"This temple has infused new energy into our age-old relationship," Modi said, referring to India and the United Arab Emirates.

"This temple will become a symbol of religious unity and global harmony," he added.

The UAE is home to around 3.5 million Indian nationals -- the largest expatriate community in the Gulf country.

The imposing temple, carved from pink stone, covers an area of 55,000 square metres and is the largest traditional stone-built Hindu temple in the Middle East, according to Emirati authorities.

A model of the temple was unveiled in February 2018 during a previous visit by Modi to the UAE.

"This time is the golden era of India's faith and culture," said Modi, just months before a general election his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expected to dominate.

Modi on Wednesday also referenced the inauguration of a Hindu temple in Ayodhya, in northern India, last month.

That temple's opening marked a triumph for Hindu nationalism. It was built on grounds where a mosque had stood for centuries before being torn down in 1992 by Hindu zealots incited by members of the BJP.

The mosque's destruction triggered the worst religious riots in India since independence in 1947, resulting in around 2,000 deaths.

The Abu Dhabi temple is in Abu Mureikha, near the motorway to the neighbouring emirate of Dubai, which opened its own Hindu temple last year.

Ties between India and the UAE have gradually deepened since a 2015 visit by Modi to the Emirates, the first by an Indian premier in more than three decades.

The UAE is India's third largest trading partner, with a bilateral trade volume of around $85 billion between 2022 and 2023.

On Tuesday, Modi met UAE president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, their fifth meeting in eight months.

They signed several deals, including a bilateral investment treaty, building on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement signed in 2022, India's foreign ministry said.

Modi also addressed a stadium packed with 40,000 Indian expatriates, and on Wednesday attended the World Government Summit of world leaders and senior business figures in Dubai.