Creating the Burj Khalifa and reaching Mars are two very different things. UAE sure knows why!

Guess who’s tempted by India’s price-sensitive mentality? None other than the ‘cash rich’ United Arab Emirates. While the US or Europe could have offered a similar solution, the UAE decided to approach India for assisting them in Mars project.

Modi’s recent visit to the UAE has made India’s relation with this gulf country better. So, when the UAE’s foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan visits Delhi this week, the discussion would go beyond politics and economy and concentrate on space project. This will be the first of its kind collaboration for both the countries. Sheikh Abdullah will be in Delhi on September 2-3 with an 83-member delegation, including top officials of the UAE's space agency and captains of industry to meet the officials of the Ministry of External Affairs.

Besides, the two nations will also discuss the possibilities for strategic partnerships and collaborations in the field of defence production, infrastructure, security, counter-terrorism, energy security and medium and small enterprises. Scientific collaboration in areas such as space and renewable energy, sustainable development, environment, agriculture, desert ecology, urban growth and healthcare will be discussed too.