UAE prepares for the largest event hosted by Indian Diaspora for PM Modi

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on February 13th for the “Ahlan Modi” or “Hello Modi” event and address the Indian diaspora at Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed Sports City Stadium. 

Organizers of “Ahlan Modi” want to make the PM's interaction with the diaspora the largest he has addressed since his first such at New York's Madison Square Garden in September 2014, which was attended by about 20,000 people. Thousands of people from the Indian Diaspora in the UAE and Gulf countries have signed up to see India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Zayed Sports City stadium in Abu Dhabi in February. More than 30,000 people have registered for the evening function on February 13, according to event organizers.

This is the website for the Ahlan Modi event.

There is immense interest to attend the event among the 3.5 million strong Indian Diaspora in the UAE and from Bahrain and other Gulf countries," said a member of the organizing committee.

Before New York’s Madison Square Garden event, PM Modi had also participated in London's Wembley Stadium (in November 2015).

Prime Minister Modi will visit the UAE for two days to take part in the World Government Summit in Dubai on February 13, address the community that evening at the Abu Dhabi stadium and inaugurate the capital’s first Hindu temple on February 14. On behalf of BAPS Hindu Mandir in Abu Dhabi, Pujya Swami Ishwarcharandas and Swami Brahmaviharidas, along with the board of directors, extended a heartfelt invitation to the Honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for the inauguration ceremony scheduled for 14 February 2024.

Prime Minister Modi graciously accepted the invitation and expressed his enthusiastic support for the historic and iconic temple. Pujya Swami Ishwarcharandas traditionally honored the Prime Minister by adorning him with a garland and draping a saffron shawl over his shoulders, acknowledging his significant contributions to our nation and the world. The Prime Minister was specially commended for the remarkable renovation and development of pilgrimage sites across India, a feat unparalleled in recent centuries.

The upcoming visit to the UAE will be PM Modi’s seventh visit since 2015, when he became the first Indian prime minister in 34 years to visit the Gulf country. The PM also visited the UAE in July 2023, during which the two countries signed an agreement to set up a campus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-Delhi), which is set to launch its first master's programme this month.

According to a statement from the event's organizing committee, 350 community leaders representing different regions and communities met at a briefing about the event on January 3 in Abu Dhabi and set up hundreds of volunteer committees. The organizers said Modi's frequent visits to the UAE have strengthened bilateral relations, which can be seen in the diverse Indian diaspora, which no longer comprises only blue-collar workers.

About 3.5 million Indian citizens live in the UAE, making it one of the largest countries for the Indian Diaspora besides the United States of America, which has 4.4 million people from the diaspora.