NEW DELHI: Even as India dithers to give dates for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposed visit to Israel, Minister of External Affairs MJ Akbar will be visiting Palestine next month.
Akbar will be traveling to Palestine on November 8-9 to co-chair the first Joint Commission Meeting between India and Palestine. The visit is part of the greater outreach policy of India towards the Middle East region. India has been using its economic leverage and its large Muslim population for strategic objectives, like undermining Pakistan’s clout in the region.
The decision to organise this Joint Commission was taken in January 2016. It would cover a range of issues that include cooperation in Economy, Energy, Tourism, Agriculture, Water and Environment, Education, Health, IT, Sports, Culture, Media etc.
Last year, Narendra Modi-led government had indicated that it will be steering its foreign policy in the Middle East from neutrality towards courting Israel more openly as it showed interest that he will soon become the first Indian Prime Minister ever to visit the Jewish nation state. This was a major departure from India’s careful balancing that included an in-principle stand that supported statehood to Palestine and at the same time extended a hand of friendship with Tel Aviv. While India was one of the first countries to recognise Israel in 1950, it was also the first non-Arab state to recognize Palestine in 1988.
Prime Minister Modi signaled that it will be pursuing its ties with one of its biggest defence partners with vigour as he met Prime Minister Netanyahu at the margins of the UN, instead of meeting Palestinian President. The meeting was followed up with another meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres in Singapore. However, the initial enthusiasm turned into a cautious approach towards Israel as President Pranab Mukherjee represented New Delhi in Tel Aviv. Watchers of the triad of India-Israel-Palestine the development as India would not want to rile its Middle-Eastern allies by ignoring Palestinian interests completely.