Arab countries call on India to support Palestinian cause

CAIRO – 25 September 2017: Arab countries expect India to maintain steadfast support for the two state solutions and to support the legitimate rights of Palestinians, while urging Israel to return back to the negotiation table, Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul-Gheit said during his meeting with the Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj. The conversation took place on the sidelines of the meetings of the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The meeting focused on the political, economic and cultural cooperation between the Arab League and India, and on the ministerial meeting of the Arab-Indian Cooperation Forum that will be held in 2018 in New Delhi, India, to exchange opinions on the Palestinian cause and other common interests, stated the spokesman of the Secretary-General, Mahmoud Afifi.

Aboul-Gheit urged India, which has good relations with Israel, not to reward Israel by supporting its 2019 – 2020 candidates for the membership of the Security Council as Israel does not comply with international legitimate resolutions, added Afifi.

Swaraj has referred that her understanding of the Arabic situation and India’s good relations with Israel will not affect its relation with Arab countries, confirming that the Indian situation towards the Palestinian cause will not change, added Afifi.

The first meeting of Arab-Indian Cooperation Forum was held in Manama, the capital of Bahrain, in 2016 and attended by representatives from 22 Arab League nations besides External Affairs Minister Swaraj and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar.

It aims to further strengthen economic, trade, and financial cooperation between India and the Arab League countries, affirming the need to achieve a comprehensive and permanent solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict, call on Israel to end its occupation of the Palestinian "Arab" territories and to issue Manama declaration.