Dubai, Jan 27 The first copy of coffee table book "India and the UAE: In Celebration of a Legendary Friendship", authored by the Consul-General in Dubai Venu Rajamony, was presented to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Vice President and Prime Minister and Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

The book was presented on Monday on the eve of India's 60th Republic Day, according to a press release issued by the Indian Consulate-General on Tuesday. The release of the book comes ahead of Rajamony leaving Dubai shortly at the end of his tenure, it added.

The statement quoted Sheikh Mohammed as saying in a message: "We look upon India as our neighbours and its people as friends; we consider India a force for peace. It is an active member of the non-aligned nations organisations and the United Nations, as well as a great economic power, not only regionally but also internationally.

"With this in mind, we are keen to maintain and enhance existing bridges of cooperation with India for the mutual benefit of both nations, so that the security and the economic stability of the Gulf region, the Indian subcontinent and the whole world can be achieved."

The 260-page book explores the ties between India and the UAE dating back to ancient times. It is filled with insights into the historic, political, cultural and business aspects of the association between the two countries.

The book is a pictorial chronicle of the great moments that have added up to the present and the reader is taken on a journey through time, where glittering vistas of ancient and contemporary narratives, rare photographs as well as facts and figures are juxtaposed against new developments, opportunities and fascinating insider glimpses of the stories that prominent Emiratis and leading Indian businessmen based in the UAE have to tell, according to the statement.

With messages from the UAE's rulers and interviews of senior ministers, the book is a definitive narrative of the India-UAE ties, it added.

Produced and published by Indian Expressions Management Consultancy in association with Motivate Publishing, the book will be available across India and the UAE soon.

Rajamony's stint in Dubai has seen a number of community and welfare initiatives, cultural and business forums, launch of a monthly consulate news magazine "India Matters" and several other novel ventures on the part of the Consulate.

The UAE is home to around 1.5 million expatriate Indians.