EAM Jaishankar, Arab League chief discuss strengthening cooperation

EAM S Jaishankar met Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit in New Delhi ahead of the 2nd India-Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. Talks focused on strengthening cooperation across sectors, regional developments, and building on a decade-old India-Arab partnership

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar met League of Arab States Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit in New Delhi on Friday to discuss strengthening cooperation between the two sides across various sectors.

Following their talks, EAM Jaishankar in a post on X, wrote, “A warm meeting with Secretary General, League of Arab States Ahmed Aboul Gheit this morning. Had a wide ranging conversation about our cooperation and strengthening it across various domains. Also exchanged views on the recent developments in the region.”

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Ahmed Aboul Gheit arrived in New Delhi on Thursday to attend the second India-Arab Foreign Ministers’ and related meetings.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) extended a warm welcome to Gheit, an Egyptian politician and diplomat. “Pleased to welcome H.E. Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary General of the League of Arab States, who arrived in New Delhi for the 2nd India-Arab Foreign Ministers’ and related meetings. High-level engagements over the next two days reflect the shared commitment for a stronger India-Arab partnership across sectors,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal posted on X.

India is set to host the 2nd India-Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (IAFMM) on January 31. The meeting, being hosted by India and the United Arab Emirates, will have the participation of Foreign Ministers of other Arab League Member States and the Arab League Secretary General.

The second India-Arab Foreign Ministers Meeting is expected to build on existing cooperation and expand the partnership. The IAFMM will be preceded by the 4th India-Arab Senior Officials’ Meeting.

The Foreign Ministers’ meeting is taking place after 10 years, as the first meeting was held in Bahrain in 2016. During the first Foreign Ministers Meeting, the leaders identified five priority verticals of cooperation – economy, energy, education, media and culture and proposed a set of activities across these verticals.

“India Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting is the highest institutional mechanism driving this partnership, which was formalised in March 2002 when India and the League of Arab States (LAS) signed an MoU institutionalising the process of dialogue,” the MEA stated.

“A Memorandum of Cooperation was signed for the establishment of the Arab-India Cooperation Forum during the visit of the then Arab League Secretary General Amre Moussa to India in December 2008, which was subsequently revised in 2013 in terms of structural organisation. India is an Observer to the League of Arab States, a pan Arab body with 22 member States,” it added.