New Delhi [India], January 29 : A delegation from Sudan arrived in India as part of the 2nd India-Arab Foreign Ministers' Meeting. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Thursday said he was "delighted to welcome" Mohieldin Salim Ahmed Ibrahim, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Sudan, as he arrived in India to participate in the second India-Arab Foreign Ministers' Meeting, noting that the visit would further strengthen people-to-people ties between the two countries.
In an X post, he said, "Delighted to welcome H.E. Mohieldin Salim Ahmed Ibrahim, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Republic of Sudan, for the second India Arab Foreign Ministers' Meeting. The visit will further strengthen people-to-people ties between India and Sudan."
India and Sudan have longstanding ties. In December last year, the two countries held the first round of Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) in Juba, the capital of the African nation, marking a significant step toward further strengthening bilateral relations. Both sides discussed a full spectrum of issues.
The consultations covered the full spectrum of bilateral relations, including capacity building, human resource development, cooperation in health, technical and vocational training, trade, and people-to-people relations, according to a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs.
Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to deepen the ongoing partnership, noting progress across various sectors since the establishment of diplomatic relations, and agreed that the next round of Foreign Office Consultations would be held in New Delhi at a mutually convenient date.
India will host the 2nd India-Arab Foreign Ministers' Meeting (IAFMM) on Saturday. The meeting will be co-chaired by India and the UAE. Foreign Ministers of other Arab League Member States and the Arab League Secretary General will participate in the 2nd India-Arab Foreign Ministers' Meeting, according to a press release from the Ministry of External Affairs.
According to the release, the Foreign Ministers' meeting is taking place after a 10-year hiatus. The first meeting was held in 2016 in Bahrain. At the first FMM, the Ministers identified five priority verticals of cooperation: economy, energy, education, media and culture and proposed a set of activities across these verticals.
The 2nd India-Arab FMM is expected to build on the existing cooperation, expanding and deepening the partnership.
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 (LAS) signed an MoU institutionalising the process of dialogue.
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, and was subsequently revised in 2013 to reflect a revised structural organisation. India is an Observer to the League of Arab States, a pan Arab body with 22 member States.
As per the release, this is the first India-Arab FMM to be hosted by India in New Delhi and will see participation by all 22 Arab countries by Foreign Ministers, other Ministers, Ministers of State and other Senior Officials and the Arab League. The IAFMM will be preceded by the 4th India-Arab Senior Officials' Meeting on Friday.
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