On January 12, 2021 3rd Senior Officials Meeting of Arab-India Cooperation Forum was held through video conference. The meeting was co-chaired by Sanjay Bhattacharyya, Secretary (CPV&OIA), Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India and Ambassador Mohamed Abu Al-Kheir, Assistant Foreign Minister and Permanent Representative of Egypt to the League of Arab States.
India to Set up $ 1Million Financial Facility for Academic Collaboration with Arab
- During this meeting India decided to establish a USD 1 million(about Rs 7.32 crores)financial facility for academic collaboration with Arab.
- This establishment will have a vast impact on people to people contacts between Delhi and its extended neighbours.
Points to Recall:
India has been elected as a non-permanent member for the UN Security Council (UNSC) for a two-year term (2021-2022)
Key Discussions Made During the meeting:
The senior officials discussed the following
Mutual concern
i.Issues related to the mutual concern on both regional and international levels, that highlights the significance of strengthening cooperation and coordination mechanisms between 2 sides.
- This was discussed in terms of serving mutual interests and maintaining regional and international peace and security
Ways and means to boost cooperation in Forum’s Framework
ii.In addition to this discussion was also made by both sides about the ways and means to boost the cooperation in the framework of the Arab-India Cooperation Forum, including in the fields of economy, trade and investment, energy and environment, agriculture and food security, tourism and culture, human resources development, education and health care, science and technology, and media.
Early scheduling of the Joint activities of the Forum:
i.Both sides agreed on the early scheduling of the joint activities of the Forum, including the 3rd Session of Arab-India Cultural Festival, the Symposium on Arab-India Cooperation in the field of Energy.
ii.In addition to this they also agreed to early schedule the joint activities of the 1st Arab-India University Presidents Conference, the 2nd Symposium on Arab-India Cooperation in the field of Media, and the 6th Session of Arab-India Partnership Conference.
Note
The 2nd Ministerial Meeting of the Arab-India Cooperation Forum is to be held in India.
Recent Related News:
On December 17, 2020, the 20th Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Council of Ministers (COM) Meeting 2020 hosted virtually by United Arab Emirates (UAE) where Indian side was represented by Vellamvelly Muraleedharan, Minister of State (MoS) Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). France became the 23rd member of the IORA.
