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India and Arab States held the 4th Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) of the Arab-India Cooperation Forum, where senior officials from both sides reviewed progress across multiple sectors of cooperation and identified new areas of engagement that were placed before the Second India-Arab Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in the national capital.
In a post on X, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated that the meeting, held on Saturday in the national capital, was co-chaired by Secretary (South) in the MEA, Neena Malhotra, and the Permanent Representative of the United Arab Emirates to the League of Arab States, Ambassador Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salem Al-Zaabi. During the SOM, the two sides reviewed the status of ongoing cooperation under the India-Arab Partnership, discussed implementation mechanisms, and deliberated on expanding collaboration in emerging priority areas. "The SOM reviewed progress on various sectors of cooperation of India Arab Partnership and identified newer areas of engagement and implementation mechanisms for presentation to the Second India Arab Foreign Ministers' Meeting," the MEA post read. The SOM discussions took place on the same day as the 2nd India-Arab Foreign Ministers' Meeting, which was co-chaired by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. EAM Jaishankar said during the meeting that India places high importance on its ties with the Arab world, highlighting cooperation in trade, energy, emerging technologies, connectivity, and people-to-people relations. He also underscored the common threat of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, reiterating zero tolerance towards terrorism, and pointed to avenues for deeper engagement in business, skilling, innovation, and artificial intelligence. The External Affairs Minister, in a post on X, further highlighted the importance of sharing best practices in digital governance, supporting capacity-building initiatives, and strengthening cultural cooperation rooted in historic civilisational linkages. "Underlined the importance India places on its ties with the Arab world. Highlighted: The significance of our cooperation in trade, energy, emerging technologies, connectivity and people to people ties. The common threat of terrorism in all forms and manifestations; as well displaying zero tolerance towards it. Avenues for deeper engagement in business, skilling, innovation and AI. Sharing best practices including in digital governance and support for capacity building. The importance of closer cultural cooperation building upon our historic linkages," the EAM's post read. Following the meeting, India and the League of Arab States adopted the Delhi Declaration and the Executive Programme for 2026-28, which, according to the EAM, "will go a long way in strengthening India-Arab partnership." According to the 'New Delhi Declaration', both sides reaffirmed a "zero tolerance" approach to terrorism and called for an urgent overhaul of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to reflect contemporary global realities. Both sides have agreed to significantly deepen their strategic partnership under the Executive Program, with an ambitious target of doubling bilateral trade to USD 500 billion by 2030, up from the current level of USD 240 billion. (ANI)
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