Rajeev Sharma tells us: Contrary to a media report which said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Abu Dhabi's visiting Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan did not discuss Abu Dhabi's proposed $75 billion investment pledge, the proposed investment in Indian infrastructure indeed came up for intensive discussion between the two leaders on Wednesday. This has been confirmed by the just released India-UAE Joint Statement.

Clause 35 of the 62-point joint statement says thus: 'The two leaders reviewed the progress in realising the USD 75 billion target for UAE investments in India's plans for rapid expansion of next generation infrastructure development. Prime Minister Modi invited UAE participation in Indias National Infrastructure Investment Master Fund as an anchor investor. The two leaders agreed that the Joint Working Group formed under the MOU on the framework for facilitating the participation of UAE Institutional Investors in National Infrastructure Investment Fund should meet regularly to boost investment ties to realize the full potential.'

Now the ball is in India's court and the Modi government is expected to fast track negotiations with Abu Dhabi on the proposed $75 billion investment.

Former senior World Bank official Sujoy Bose, who was appointed CEO of the Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion) National Infrastructure Investment Fund last June, is likely to play a pivotal role in India-UAE negotiations.

However, these negotiations are going to be a long process and it may take quite a while before the first tranche of the $75 billion investment materialises.