New Delhi: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday (February 14) inaugurated a Rs 700 crore Hindu temple with an aarti in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The temple was built over four years.Modi is currently on his seventh visit to the Gulf emirate in the last ten years, making the UAE Modi’s second-most frequently visited foreign nation along with France and Japan, behind only the United States.On his second day, Modi spoke at the World Government Summit, but the media hype over this UAE visit was over the Hindu temple.The UAE has had several Hindu temples for decades, but this temple run by a Gujarat-based Hindu denomination has been described as the first one in the city of Abu Dhabi and the first such stone temple in the Gulf state.Speaking at the temple’s inauguration, Modi sought to draw parallels with the opening of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, which has been a major part of the ruling BJP’s re-election strategy.“The joy we felt in Ayodhya has been amplified in Abu Dhabi today. It is my honour that I witnessed the consecration of the temple in Ayodhya last month and this temple in Abu Dhabi today,” he said.The temple in Ayodhya was built following a judgement of the Indian Supreme Court in 2019, three decades after the Babri Masjid was demolished at the very same spot by a crowd of Hindutva kar sevaks.The temple in Abu Dhabi, operated by the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, is spread over 27 acres and has been constructed at a cost of over Rs 700 crore.The first temple in the UAE was opened in 1958 in Bur Dubai. It was relocated this year to Jebel Ali, but the closure of the 66-year-old temple had led to mixed emotions among its loyal congregation, as per The National newspaper.“The UAE has, in history, written a new chapter,” Modi said in his speech at the temple’s community hall.Modi also denied that he can be called a priest, which he is described as by his supporters.“A centuries-old dream was fulfilled. All of India and every Indian is still cherishing that feeling. My friend Brahmavihari Swamy was saying, ‘Modi ji is the biggest priest’. I don’t know if I have the qualifications of a temple priest, but I am proud to be a priest of Mother India,” he said, referring to the consecration ceremony on January 22.Earlier in the day, Modi spoke at the World Governments Summit, where he praised his own governance record and called for giving prominence to the Global South in the international system.For India, the Global South had been a leitmotif for its presidency of the G20 group.India had organised two virtual ‘Voice of the Global South’ conferences, which claimed to populate the G20 agenda with issues that were important to developing countries.New Delhi had cited the invitation to the African Union to join the forum as a major achievement of its presidency.However, India’s alignment with the sentiments of the Global South on major geopolitical issues, such as the Israel-Hamas conflict in the initial months, has not always been consistent.Indian external affairs minister S. Jaishankar had to also skip the biggest meeting of the Global South in Cuba due to the government calling for a special parliamentary session at short notice.Jaishankar will also be absent from the upcoming meeting of G20 foreign ministers in Brazil due to scheduling conflicts with the Ministry of External Affairs’ flagship event, the Raisina Dialogue.