President of the UAE Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan on Saturday served a full vegetarian meal at the banquet he hosted in honor of Prime Minister Narendra Modi – who is in Abu Dhabi for a day-long visit. A note on the menu card for the banquet read, “All meals are vegetarian and prepared with vegetable oils, and contain no dairy or egg products.”
The banquet – at the Qasr-al-Watan presidential palace – began the meal with wheat and dates salad served with local organic vegetables, followed by grilled vegetables with masala sauce as starters. For the main course, the dignitaries were served black lentils and local harees (wheat) along with cauliflower and carrot tandoori. A variety of local seasonal fruits were served for desserts.
PM Modi was accorded a ceremonial welcome upon his arrival at the presidential palace. Thanking the UAE president, PM Modi said, “The respect you gave me, there is no other proof of affinity than this like a brother meeting his brother.” Adding that he will attend the COP-28 Summit in the UAE, PM added, “We (India-UAE) signed historic agreements within three months which would not have been possible without your cooperation and commitment.”
PM Modi also said that India-UAE bilateral trade has grown by 20 percent, with both the countries achieving $85 billion in trade. “We will soon achieve the target of $100 billion,” he added.
Before meeting the UAE president, PM Modi held a meeting with the UN climate conference’s president-designate Sultan Al Jaber.
