Dubai has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with India to build infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir. Further details of the MoU were announced by the Indian government on Monday, but the value of the accord was not provided.
Indian government said that the agreement will see Dubai, one of the seven emirates of UAE, building infrastructure including industrial parks, IT and multi-purpose towers, logistics centres, a medical college, and a specialist hospital, according to reports.
Describing the agreement as a recognition of New Delhi’s claim to the disputed region, Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said, “This agreement sends a strong signal to the world that India is becoming a world power and that Jammu and Kashmir has a key role to play.”
Various entities from Dubai have shown keen interest in investing in Kashmir, as per the Indian government.
“The Hindu nationalist government of India’s prime minister Narendra Modi has begun an assault on the land, natural resources, culture, and people of the state, which comprises the Ladakh plateau, the lowlands of Jammu and the mountainous valley of Kashmir,” the Financial Times said.
Dubai’s signing of the MoU has been criticised, especially because the Narendra Modi led government has been accused of fuelling anti-Muslim hatred and allowing ultra-nationalist Hindus, to carry out pogroms against nearly 200 million Muslim citizens in India.
One of the critics on social media said, “Efforts to implement the Israeli model in occupied Kashmir are still ongoing and Dubai has decided to side with them.”
(With Inputs)
