Over 10 Arab FMs confirm attendance at India Arab FM meet; Libya's minister makes first post-Gaddafi visit
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Over 10 Arab FMs confirm attendance at India Arab FM meet; Libya's minister makes first post-Gaddafi visit")
India's Secretary (South) Dr Neena Malhotra and Joint Secretary (West Asia & North Africa) Dr M. Suresh Kumar meeting Arab ambassadors in Delhi last week Photograph: (MEA)
The event, the 2nd since the inaugural session in 2016, will draw representatives from around 22 Arab League nations. Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, a former Egyptian foreign minister, will also be present.
India is preparing to host a major diplomatic gathering as more than 10 Arab foreign ministers have confirmed their participation in the second India-Arab Foreign Ministers' Meeting on 30-31 January. The line-up includes Foreign ministers of Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Sudan, Palestine, Somalia, Mauritania, Comoros and Libya. Saudi Arabia will send its vice-foreign minister. Confirmations are still awaited from Lebanon, Syria and Morocco. It looks like Syria's top diplomat, Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani's attendance could be dicey with pressing issues in his home country.
The event, the 2nd since the inaugural session in 2016, will draw representatives from around 22 Arab League nations. Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, a former Egyptian foreign minister, will also be present. Gheit has been the Arab League's Secretary-General for the last 10 years, and in the past also served as Egypt's permanent representative to the UN.
A historic element is the attendance of Libya's Foreign Minister Eltaher S M Elbaour , representing the internationally recognised Government of National Unity. This marks the first visit to India by a Libyan foreign minister since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, signalling Libya's tentative return to broader international engagement after more than a decade of turmoil.
The visiting ministers are expected to pay courtesy calls on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Arab-India Foreign minister meet will be chaired by India's External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar. Talks will focus on geopolitical flashpoints, including the Palestinian issue and regional stability, alongside geoeconomic opportunities such as the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor. Bilateral trade, investment, energy security and counter-terrorism cooperation are also high on the agenda.
Preparations have intensified when India's Secretary (South) Dr Neena Malhotra and Joint Secretary (West Asia & North Africa) Dr M. Suresh Kumar meeting Arab ambassadors in Delhi. Last week, at a public address, Egypt's Ambassador to India, Kamel Zayed Kamel Galal, described the upcoming meeting as a vital platform for unified dialogue.
Ahead of the main day of engagement on Saturday, India and Arab nations are set to bolster economic ties with the formal launch of the India & Arab Countries Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (IACCIA). IACCIA, traces its roots to the 2016 Muscat Declaration from the Fifth Arab-Indian Partnership Conference. Its framework gained further endorsement in the 2023 Delhi Declaration during the sixth conference in New Delhi.
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Backed by the League of Arab States, the Federation of Arab Chambers in Beirut, and the Council of Arab Ambassadors in New Delhi, the chamber aims to enhance trade, investment, and agricultural cooperation between India and the Arab world. The launch will see presence of Arab Foreign ministers and India at minister of state level from the ministry of external affairs.
