UAE Ambassador Alshaali Cheers for Cricket: Champions Trophy Final Unites Us All

Ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final on Sunday, the Ambassador of United Arab Emirates (UAE) to India, Abdulnasser Alshaali has said that cricket captures "a very different side of the relationship, something that brings us all together". The final will be held at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in the United Arab Emirates, which stems from India's refusal to travel to Pakistan due to deteriorating security situation. Speaking to WION's Sidhant Sibal, Ambassador Alshaali said, "will continue to host cricket teams is something that I'm also very excited about". 

The UAE boasts a world-class cricket infrastructure, which includes Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, and has positioned it as a prominent hub for international cricket. Supporting this are robust training facilities like the ICC Academy in Dubai, featuring two full-sized ovals, 38 practice pitches (including turf, synthetic, and indoor options), and advanced technology like bowling machines.

The Ambassador was speaking at the embassy's annual Iftar, which is the grandest such Iftar in Delhi & witnessed the presence of city's diplomatic community. On the relationship, he said, "So in this relationship, you can see India playing a cricket match in the UAE, and you can see, BAPS Mandir coming up in Abu Dhabi, you see Iftar here in New Delhi." Full interview:

Sidhant Sibal: The Iftar party by the UAE embassy, is one of the grandest ones in Delhi, with the entire diplomatic community of Delhi attending. How do you see this presence of the diplomatic community at the Iftar party?

Abdulnasser Alshaali: So just to be clear, when I hosted Iftar at my place in the UAE, it was not as big. We have to change things and accommodate the Indian standards (in Delhi). So we have got inspiration from Indian weddings. They have to be grand, and they have to be big. And we literally added two tables this year because of the number of people who have confirmed attending the Iftar. And as you mentioned, this started a couple of years ago and would continue to be one of the key events in the diplomatic calendar here in Delhi.

Sidhant Sibal: Now talking about India UAE relationship, if you can just give your broad view, because this is one of the most important relationships India has in West Asia, and UAE has emerged as one of the most important partners for India towards its west

Abdulnasser Alshaali: Correct. And you know, I think from anyone who's following the news, they have always been high level visits. This will continue to be the case. We're expecting a high level visit in April. We're all very excited about it, and we are talking about almost everything. So, in this relationship, you can see India playing a cricket match in the UAE, and you can see, BAPS Mandir coming up in Abu Dhabi, you see Iftar here in New Delhi.  Number of visits, and officials coming, discussing all kinds of existing and emerging technologies and sectors, AI, data centres, you name it. And this will always be the case, and this will always be an exciting relationship for everyone to look forward to.

Sidhant Sibal: If you can perhaps talk about various domains in the relationship, whether it's aviation, and also when it comes to the trading relationship, we saw the trading pact that was signed, how much it has helped, both ways. 

Abdulnasser Alshaali: As you know, we have a certain target of 100 billion US dollars non-oil trade by 2030, or so. And it seems like everything is on track, if everything stays as is to achieve that target. And when I say this, I mean this growth in bilateral trade in certain sectors continues on the current trajectory, no economic crisis whatsoever. So that's the first part. On the second part. I really do believe that aviation is the thing that keeps everything or brings everything together. And you know, you can have the best trade relationship, the best business relationship, the best whatever relationship that you want, but then if you don't have enough flights, that people-to-people connection will not be there. People to People connection can drive everything else with it. And so there's a serious proposal on the table on how we can take this conversation forward. And I think it really just comes down to wanting to start to have this conversation, then having that conversation, agreeing on the terms and conditions, like we did with the CEPA, because this is the essence of it. And you know, back in the day when people started negotiating CEPA, no one thought, because at the time, India hadn't signed anything of the sort. The UAE was negotiating its first CEPA, yet they were able to do it in 88 days. No one's saying that aviation should be resolved in 88 days. But the conversation should start somewhere,

Sidhant Sibal: Ending on a very positive note. That's cricket. You have emerged at an important sporting centre. You're going to host the finals of the Champions Trophy as well. How do you just see this moment as and essentially who you are rooting for as well?

Abdulnasser Alshaali: Publicly, I cannot say that, but I think naturally you would know my team, or who am I cheering for and rooting for. In terms of sports, I think this is great, and it really does capture a very different side of the relationship, something that brings us all together, and that's besides culture, that's sports, being able to host cricket teams and hopefully to continue to host cricket teams is something that I'm also very excited about, and we'd like to see more.