In an attempt to dehyphenate relations between Palestine and Israel, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will make his first official visit to Ramallah on February 10 to hold talks with President Mahmoud Abbas and reassure Palestine about India’s support to their cause and nation building efforts. Apart from Modi’s own first trip to Palestine as a PM, this will also be a first ever visit to Palestine by an Indian PM.
Modi will then visit United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman where community address, meeting with business heads and visits to temple and a mosque is on cards. It will also be Modi’s second visit to the UAE, after August 2015, and first-ever visit to Oman.
Officials in External Affairs Ministry (MEA) said on Monday that PM’s tour to Ramallah is also an attempt to reassure the Palestinian leadership of unwavering Indian support to their cause. “PM’s visit to Palestine has various aspects. It is to reiterate India’s commitment for the Palestinian cause, express solidarity with them, and India’s constant support to Palestine’s nation building efforts. Besides, there is a bilateral aspect of the relationship where the two countries are partnering particularly on security and counter terror cooperation,” MEA Joint Secretary B Bala Bhaskar said.
India is involved in various IT projects in Palestine to train the youth for employment. In addition India and Palestine are also collaborating in the areas of health, tourism, youth affairs, and sports.
In Palestine, Modi will visit the Yasser Arafat Museum before holding formal talks with Abbas. A couple of agreements are likely to be signed during the visit. Modi will leave for UAE for bilateral talks and the Sixth World Government Summit after attending the banquet lunch hosted by Abbasi in his honour.
Modi’s visit to UAE comes following an invitation by the President of UAE, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. In Dubai, Modi will address the Sixth World Government Summit, at which India has been invited as guest of honour. Modi will speak on the topic of ‘Technology for Development’ while giving out his Government’s vision for using technology for pushing development. He will also hold bilateral talks with Sultan al-Nahyan.
Modi will also meet UAE’s PM and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid al-Maktoum. Modi has a meeting with Indian community, and a function to lay the foundation stone of a temple in Abu Dhabi lined up.
In Oman too Modi will meet a large number Indian expatriates and business heads to invite investments. Apart from visiting an old Shiva Temple in Oman, Modi will also visit the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque and call on Deputy PM Fahd bin Mahmoud al-Said and Sayyid Asaad during the visit.
Prior to Modi’s travel, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will be visiting Saudi Arabia, from February 6-8, where India is the Guest of Honour at the Al Janadria, the national cultural festival held in Saudi Arabia every year.
The festival is the most prestigious and much awaited cultural event of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. According to Saudi Arabia embassy in New Delhi, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, patronises the festival. Dignitaries from the GCC Member-States attend the festival as special guests.
According to MEA, during her visit, Swaraj will meet with the Saudi leadership to discuss bilateral, regional and global issues. Saudi Arabia is the fourth largest trading partner for India with bilateral trade exceeding $ 25 billion in 2016-17. “As our largest supplier of crude oil, Saudi Arabia accounts for about 20% of our total annual imports,” MEA said. About 3.2 million strong Indian community forms the largest expatriate group in Saudi Arabia.