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Stay ahead in your UPSC CSE preparation with our daily News Summary. Designed to save time, it highlights key national and international events from leading newspapers and government websites.
India and UAE ink pacts
UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited India on 19 January 2026. Both countries inked several pacts and made many announcements on this occasion.
PM Modi with UAE President in New Delhi on 19 January 2026. Photo: X/@narendramodi
Agreements
- Investment Cooperation between Gujarat and the UAE for the development of Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR).
- Collaboration between India’s IN-SPACe and the UAE Space Agency.
- Strategic Defence Partnership.
- Sales & Purchase Agreement (SPA) between HPCL and the UAE’s ADNOC Gas.
- Food sector cooperation between APEDA and the UAE.
Announcements
- Establishment of a supercomputing cluster in India.
- Double bilateral Trade to USD 200 billion by 2032.
- Promote bilateral Civil Nuclear Cooperation
- Establishment of UAE companies, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) and DP World, in the GIFT City in Gujarat.
- Explore Establishment of Digital/Data Embassies.
- Establishment of a ‘House of India’ in Abu Dhabi.
India-UAE trade relations
- In 2024-25, bilateral trade between India and the UAE stood at USD 100 billion → both countries aim to raise it to USD 200 billion by 2032.
- UAE is India’s 2nd-largest LNG supplier after Qatar.
White Space Diplomacy
White space diplomacy refers to leveraging leadership gaps in geopolitics and multilateral platforms where no major power can credibly lead due to rivalries, legitimacy constraints, or domestic priorities. It shifts focus from large multipurpose forums (e.g., United Nations, G20) to agile, issue-specific coalitions (e.g., BRICS).
Opportunities for India in global diplomatic white spaces
Key arenas for India’s white space diplomacy are as follows:
- European Union (EU)
- EU seeks to de-risk from China and hedge against U.S. unpredictability, creating space for India as a stable partner.
- Leveraging this white space, such as concluding India-EU FTA, can deepen India’s access to European markets, diversifying demand-supply chains and reducing U.S.-centric trade volatility.
- However, strict EU standards will raise compliance and operating costs for many Indian producers, especially MSMEs.
- Inviting EU leaders Ursula Leyen and António Costa as chief guests at the 77th Republic Day signals diplomatic intent in this direction.
- BRICS
- The recent BRICS expansion broadens its reach but also heightens internal divergence, blurring focus and slowing collective action.
- As BRICS chair in 2026, India can steer the group towards credible development goalsand Global South priorities like climate finance, digital infrastructure, and resilient supply chains.
- Within BRICS, India can explore climate and development financing (New Development Bank), trade facilitation, and payment systems to reduce vulnerability to Western sanctions.
- Quad
- The Quad operates amid stretched U.S. attention, cautious Japan and Australia, and Indo-Pacific states seeking cooperation without confrontation with China.
- This enables India to shape the Quad’s agenda on maritime awareness, digital connectivity, resilient infrastructure, health, and tech standards that benefit regional partners.
- By emphasising practical, non-polarising initiatives and public goods, India can help evolve the Quad into a platform for functional leadership in the Indo-Pacific, with the 2026 Quad Leaders’ Summit in India offering a timely opportunity to set this tone.
- Other diplomatic white spaces
- IBSA: for South-South trade/tech cooperation
- East Asia Summit: for ASEAN-centric engagements.
- Shanghai Cooperation Organisation: selective engagement for balanced regional dynamics and Central Asian connectivity
- ISA/Mission LiFE: for climate financing.
Way Forward
Narrowing agendas at bodies like the G20 and UN climate conferences, and the U.S. disengagement from major multilateral forums, have exposed the limits of large forums. India can exploit these diplomatic white spaces through agile coalitions, while maintaining its strategic autonomy.
Yemen’s tripartite power struggle
- Involves the following factions:
- Saudi-backed Yemen’s Govt → led by Presidential Leadership Council (PLC)
- UAE-backed separatist force named Southern Transitional Council (STC)
- Iran-backedrebels Ansar Allah (Houthis)
- PLC was formed in 2022 to unite anti-Houthi factions.
- Notably, though Yemen’s Govt and STC fight with each other, they are together in an anti-Houthi alliance.
Quick Picks for Pre and Mains (QPPM)
- Gujarat is exploring AI-driven surveillance to tackle the problem of stray cattle in cities → a pilot project is being prepared for the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) area.
- India’s first guava festival was held in Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan, on 18-19 January 2026 → India is the largest guava producer (FAO 2023) → within India, UP leads (2024-25, 1st Advance Estimates), followed by MP.
- India International Conference on Democracy and Election Management (IICDEM), 2026: to be held in New Delhi on 21-23 January → being organised by the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM), a body under the Election Commission of India (EC).
- The 86th All India Presiding Officers’ Conference (AIPOC) & 62nd Conference of Secretaries of Legislative Bodies in India is being held in Lucknow on 19-21 January 2026.
- Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS): a rare autoimmune disorder where the immune system mistakenly attacks the peripheral nerves, leading to muscle weakness, tingling, and potential paralysis → recently GBS cases have been detected in Neemuch, MP.
- World Economic Outlook: published twice a year by the IMF → raised India’s economic growth outlook for FY 2025-26 to 7.3%.