The second India-Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting will be held in New Delhi tomorrow. The meeting will be co-chaired by India and the UAE. Foreign Ministers of Arab League Member States and the Arab League Secretary General will participate in the meeting. This is the first India-Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting to be hosted by India in New Delhi. It will see participation by all 22 Arab countries. The meeting is taking place after a gap of 10 years. The first meeting was held in Bahrain in 2016, where the Ministers identified five priority verticals of cooperation. These are economy, energy, education, media and culture. Our correspondent reports that the second India-Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting is expected to build on existing cooperation, expanding and deepening this partnership.

India has traditionally enjoyed close and friendly relations with the Arab world. These relations date back to ancient times. Traders, scholars and diplomats would often traverse the Arabian Sea and the land routes linking India to West Asia and the Arab Peninsula, transferring knowledge and merchandise. Today, the nations of the Arab League are part of India’s extended neighbourhood. The League of Arab States was formed in Cairo on 22nd March 1945. Currently, the League has 22 member states from the Arab world, including countries from North Africa and the Middle East. It has several observer states, including Armenia, Brazil, Greece, India and Venezuela. The League of Arab States aims to strengthen and coordinate the political, cultural, economic and social programs of its members and to mediate disputes among them or between them and third parties.