NEW DELHI: Barely a month after hugging his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to repeat the gesture with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the Palestinian city of Ramallah on Saturday.
In July last year, Modi made history by becoming the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel. He will also become the first to visit Palestine.
Modi left New Delhi on Friday for Amman, Jordan, from where he will launch his official visit to Palestine, the UAE and Oman. After a courtesy call on King Abdullah II and senior officials in Amman, he will ride a helicopter to Ramallah, the de-facto capital of Palestine on Saturday, since Palestine has no active airports.
He will meet the Palestinian leadership after laying a wreath at the memorial for Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, and attend a luncheon banquet in his honour before returning to Amman in the evening and boarding Air India One to Dubai. The PM is expected to return to New Delhi on Monday late evening.
The visit is likely to see a reiteration of India’s support to the Palestinian cause. Officials said Modi would highlight New Delhi’s assistance to help build Palestinian capacity in the health, information technology, infrastructure and education sectors. New Delhi is funding an India-Palestinian technology park in Ramallah to help develop IT skills and generate employment.
“These standalone visits to Israel and now Palestine are significant because traditionally, all earlier visits by senior Indian leaders over the past few years, and there were many recently, were marked with a customary visit to Ramallah,” said an Indian diplomat. “Usually, these visits are made after apprising both sides.
We briefed and reassured the Palestinian leadership that our growing relationship with Israel would in no way dilute our commitment to the Palestinian cause. In fact, both sides have privately appreciated New Delhi’s ability to quietly act as a go between given its close ties with the leadership in Tel Aviv and Ramallah.”