Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi offers stump re-election speech on international stage in UAE

ABU MUREIKHA, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a stump speech for his re-election on a global stage Wednesday in the United Arab Emirates, describing his years in power as pushing for “minimum government, maximum governance.”

Modi’s comments come as he prepares for the inauguration of a stone-built Hindu temple near Abu Dhabi, the country’s capital, after meeting with the Emirati leader he’s repeatedly described as “his brother.” That personal touch seems aimed at further cementing ties with the UAE, an oil-rich country that supplies India’s energy needs while also serving as a home for some 3.5 million of his countrymen abroad.

“I believe that people should neither feel the absence of a government, but at the same time, nor should there be pressure from the government,” Modi said in a speech before the World Governments Summit in Dubai. “In fact, I believe that the government should interfere as little as possible in the lives of people.”

Modi entered the hall at the summit in Dubai, accompanied by the city-state’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Now on his seventh trip to the UAE since becoming prime minister, Modi already received a warm welcome from the autocratic nation’s president, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, also the ruler of Abu Dhabi.

Modi described a series of his government’s achievements, while also broadly touching on challenges facing the world.

“Terrorism, with every passing day, has been taking on new forms and is posing new challenges to mankind. Even climate-related challenges are becoming bigger with the passage of time,” Modi said. “On the one hand, there are domestic concerns and on the other the international systems seem in disarray. And