New Delhi, March 11 (IANS) India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Thursday held talks to scale up their political and economic ties as the UAE's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum arrived here on a visit lasting a few hours and met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Al Maktoum, also vice-president of UAE and the ruler of Dubai, was received warmly at the airport by Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor.

He met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and held wide-ranging talks that focused on scaling up bilateral economic ties to new heights.

The two sides discussed increased collaboration in banking, finance, trade and investments and infrastructure sector.

He was accompanied by Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, deputy ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al Maktoum, president of Dubai Civil Aviation Department and chairman of the Emirates Airlines and Mohammed Sultan al Owais, UAE Ambassador to India, Emirates official news agency WAM said.

Bilateral trade is growing and is expected to exceed $25 billion soon.