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External Affairs Minister met with Secretary General, League of Arab States, Ahmed Aboul Gheit on Friday as he arrived in India to participate in the India-Arab Foreign Ministers' Meeting (IAFMM).
The held discussions on "cooperation" and "strengthening it across various domains." In a post on X, Jaishakar 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." The meeting comes amid growing diplomatic efforts to strengthen India-Arab relations, with a focus on economic, energy, and security partnerships. India will host the 2nd India-Arab Foreign Ministers' Meeting (IAFMM) on Saturday. The meeting will be co-chaired by India and the UAE. Foreign Ministers of other Arab League Member States and the Arab League Secretary General will participate in the 2nd India-Arab Foreign Ministers' Meeting, according to a press release from the Ministry of External Affairs. According to the release, the Foreign Ministers' meeting is taking place after a 10-year hiatus. The first meeting was held in 2016 in Bahrain. At the first FMM, the Ministers identified five priority verticals of cooperation: economy, energy, education, media and culture and proposed a set of activities across these verticals. The 2nd India-Arab FMM is expected to build on the existing cooperation, expanding and deepening the partnership. The 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. A Memorandum of Cooperation was signed to establish the Arab-India Cooperation Forum during the visit of the then Arab League Secretary General Amre Moussa to India in December 2008, and was subsequently revised in 2013 to reflect a revised structural organisation. India is an Observer to the League of Arab States, a pan Arab body with 22 member States. As per the release, this is the first India-Arab FMM to be hosted by India in New Delhi and will see participation by all 22 Arab countries by Foreign Ministers, other Ministers, Ministers of State and other Senior Officials and the Arab League. The IAFMM will be preceded by the 4th India-Arab Senior Officials' Meeting on Friday. (ANI)
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