On April 8, the Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, visited India. During the visit, he held bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Following the visit, several left-leaning social media users claimed that the Crown Prince’s trip was primarily intended to secure a business deal for the Adani Group, suggesting that the visit was aimed at benefiting Gautam Adani personally. It was also alleged that the Adani Group is in partnership with UAE’s defence company EDGE, which is reportedly looking to enter into agreements with Indian state-run firms such as HAL and DRDO. Critics questioned why India would choose to engage with a private defence company instead of government-owned enterprises.
Raju Parulekar wrote, ‘HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai and the Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister of UAE 🇦🇪 was on a two day visit to India. He was visiting India AT THE INVITATION of PM Modi. Last year, in June 2024, the UAE Government’s EDGE Group, signed an agreement with Adani Defence and Aerospace to establish development, production, services and R&D facilities in India and UAE. Besides, EDGE and Adani, both are working with Israel for advanced technology based defence products. In this context, what is the purpose behind Modi’s invitation to the Defence Minister of UAE? To further the Defence Cooperation with Adani? No defence PSU of GOI is part of this discussion and/or defence cooperation MOUs. It’s just Adani all the way. In fact, reports from 2023 suggest that EDGE was exploring collaboration with Indian PSUs like HAL, DRDO etc. Why did Modi Government not ensure this cooperation between the Government owned Companies of two sovereign Nations? Would the Defence PSUs of India be killed like MTNL/BSNL to ensure that Cronies have all the profits? We are now going to see the “Merchants of Death” trade Sovereignty of the Nation for Cronies’ Profits!! The opposition can’t stop it and voting/elections is no more an option. So how do we arrest this TREASON and TREACHERY with our Country?”
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We began our fact-checking process by examining two separate questions: First, did the Crown Prince of Dubai visit India to benefit the Adani Group? And second, while UAE-based EDGE Group is reportedly exploring business with HAL, is this the first time India is engaging with foreign private defence players — and should such a move be considered treacherous?
Fact: We began our fact-checking process by reviewing the official press release on the website of India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) regarding the visit of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the UAE.
According to the release, in Mumbai, the Crown Prince held a high-level business meeting with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. The two discussed the success of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), with a strong focus on the progress of the Virtual Trade Corridor (VTC) and its role in the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC).
The press release outlined several key announcements made during the visit:
Education:
Healthcare:
Trade Infrastructure:
Shipbuilding and Repair:
Commerce and Investment:
Furthermore, The Hindu, in a report published on April 8, 2025, stated that India and the UAE agreed to make defence industrial cooperation a central part of their strategic partnership. This followed a meeting between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and the visiting Crown Prince.
In addition, a Times of India report dated April 5, 2025, highlighted that India, the UAE, and Sri Lanka signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop a multi-dimensional energy hub in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka — a move seen as a strategic alignment to counter China’s influence in the region.
Moreover, an IDRW article published on April 10, 2025, reported that India had offered the indigenously developed Akash air defence missile system to the UAE, following a high-level meeting in New Delhi between Rajnath Singh and the Crown Prince. This offer reflects India’s broader defence export strategy, which includes indigenous technologies like the Akash missile, Pinaka rocket systems, and BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles — especially targeting partnerships with Gulf and ASEAN nations.
Thus, none of the official releases or media reports reviewed mentioned any deal between the Crown Prince and the Adani Group during the visit. On the contrary, India extended a major defence export offer to the UAE. Additionally, a recent India-UAE-Sri Lanka trilateral MoU aims to strengthen regional cooperation in the Indian Ocean, countering China’s growing presence.
Fact: The claim made by Raju Parulekar is based on a February 2023 press release by the EDGE Group. The release stated that “EDGE, one of the world’s leading advanced technology and defence groups, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), a premier Indian entity engaged in the design, development, manufacturing, and maintenance of aircraft, helicopters, engines, aerospace equipment, and related systems for both military and civil sectors.”
The core question is whether this is the first time India has signed a defence deal with a foreign private company. The answer is a clear no.
As far back as 1986, under Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, India signed a $1.5 billion contract with Swedish private arms company AB Bofors for over 400 155mm howitzer field guns. The deal later became infamous due to a major corruption scandal involving top Congress leaders.
Furthermore, the European defence firm MBDA has been working with India for over 50 years. It collaborates with Indian entities such as L&T MBDA Missile Systems Ltd and Bharat Dynamics Limited to provide missile systems to the Indian Armed Forces.
Between 1982 and 1985, India acquired 51 Mirage 2000 fighter jets from the French private defence firm Dassault Aviation. In recent years, the same firm delivered the Rafale fighter jets to India.
UK-based BAE Systems has also had long-standing defence cooperation with India. It works with Mahindra Defence and HAL, and recently supplied M777 howitzers to the Indian Army.
In addition, private defence companies such as Thales (UK), Boeing (USA), SAAB (Sweden), and Lockheed Martin (USA) have all had substantial defence engagements with India over the years—regardless of which government was in power.
Therefore, the claim that partnering with foreign private defence companies is a betrayal of national interest is not only misleading but also absurd. India has been engaging with such firms for decades in a strategic and bipartisan manner.
There is no evidence that the Crown Prince of Dubai visited India to benefit the Adani Group. His visit focused on strengthening India-UAE ties in areas like education, healthcare, trade, and defence. In fact, India offered the UAE its indigenously developed Akash air defence system during this visit.
Similarly, the claim that India is betraying its interests by partnering with foreign private defence companies is baseless. India has been doing business with such firms for decades—long before the current government—through deals with companies like SAAB, Dassault, Boeing, MBDA, and BAE Systems. These partnerships have played a crucial role in strengthening India’s defence capabilities.
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