External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Friday met his Sudanese counterpart, Mohieldin Salim Ahmed Ibrahim, and reiterated India’s position calling for an end to violence in Sudan and a return to dialogue.
In a post on X, Jaishankar said: “A cordial meeting this afternoon with Foreign Minister Mohieldin Salim Ahmed Ibrahim of Sudan. Reiterated India’s position for an end to violence in Sudan and a return to dialogue. Discussed our ongoing humanitarian support and exchanges in education and capacity building. Committed to further activities in that regard.”
Ibrahim arrived in New Delhi on Thursday to attend the second India-Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting scheduled to be held on January 31. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the visit would further strengthen people-to-people ties between India and Sudan.
“Delighted to welcome H.E. Mohieldin Salim Ahmed Ibrahim, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Sudan, for the second India-Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. The visit will further strengthen people-to-people ties between India and Sudan,” Jaiswal posted on X.
India is set to host the second India-Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (IAFMM) on January 31. The meeting, co-hosted by India and the United Arab Emirates, will see the participation of Foreign Ministers from Arab League member states, along with the Secretary General of the Arab League.
The meeting is expected to build on existing cooperation and expand the India-Arab partnership. It will be preceded by the fourth India-Arab Senior Officials’ Meeting.
The Foreign Ministers’ meeting is being held after a gap of 10 years, with the first such meeting having taken place in Bahrain in 2016. During that meeting, leaders identified five priority areas of cooperation—economy, energy, education, media and culture—and proposed a set of activities across these sectors.
“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 signed a memorandum of understanding institutionalising the dialogue process,” the MEA said.
“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. This was subsequently revised in 2013 in terms of its structural organisation. India is an Observer to the League of Arab States, a pan-Arab body comprising 22 member states,” it added.
— IANS
