Abu Dhabi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday discussed ways to improve trade and cultural ties between India and the UAE with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. 

Welcoming Modi, the crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, expressed gratitude to his "brother" for visiting "his second home". 

"Further cementing a close friendship. Fruitful talks between H.H. Crown Prince @MohamedBinZayed and PM @narendramodi in Abu Dhabi. Both leaders discussed ways to improve trade and cultural relations between India and UAE," the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) tweeted after the meeting. 

The two leaders also discussed the "full spectrum of the strong India-UAE partnership", which has been "built over generations", External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.

There was a "new energy" in the relationship between the two leaders, he tweeted. Kumar quoted the crown prince as saying, "I am so grateful that my brother is coming to his second home." 

With robust flow of bilateral investments and an annual bilateral trade of about USD 60 billion, the UAE is India's third-largest trade partner. It is also the fourth-largest exporter of crude oil for India.

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ISLAMABAD: At least two more cases of poliovirus were reported in Pakistan, taking the number of infections to 52 so far this year, a report said on Friday.

“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of two more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases in Pakistan," an official statement said.

The fresh infections — a boy and a girl — were reported from the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

“Genetic sequencing of the samples collected from the children is underway," the statement read. Dera Ismail Khan, one of the seven polio-endemic districts of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has reported five polio cases so far this year.

Of the 52 cases in the country this year, 24 are from Balochistan, 13 from Sindh, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.

There is no cure for polio. Only multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five can keep them protected.