NEW DELHI: India has announced scholarships to Syrian students who want to study in India. Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan during his just-concluded visit to Syria also said India will soon send a consignment of cancer medicines.
“During my meeting with Syrian President Dr Bashar al-Assad, we exchanged views on our bilateral cooperation. We have also announced 300 new scholarships for Syrian students who want to study in India,’’ said Muraleedharan, who also met Syria’s Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and Minister of Health.
The Syrian president described the relations binding Syria and India as “deep-rooted” and hailed India’s “firm objective stance on Arab issues, as well as for its stances towards the war waged against Syria”. He also thanked New Delhi’s assistance to the country during the deadly earthquake in February.
This was the first ministerial visit from India to Syria since August 2016. In his meeting with Syrian Prime Minister Hussein Arnous, Muraleedharan discussed ways to strengthen bilateral ties, including development partnership assistance, education and capacity building.
The Syrian leadership widely appreciated India’s humanitarian support to Syria in the hour of need, particularly in the aftermath of the devastating Earthquake in February 2023.
The minister also called on His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Syriac Patriarch of Antioch and all the East and discussed the robust people-to-people ties between the two countries, especially between the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and Kerala.