Sushma meets Palestinian FM, pays floral tribute at Gandhi’s bust

She had began her engagements with a meeting with her Palestinian counterpart Riyad Malki, and also paid homage to a statue of Mahatma Gandhi here.

“She will call on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a dialogue, followed by a meeting with President Reuven Rivlin”, said External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will kick off her Israel tour with wreath laying at Yad Vashem, a memorial dedicated to the victims of the Holocaust, on Monday.

India is executing several projects in Palestine to improve the living conditions of people and has been active in capacity building by extending scholarships to Palestinian students and building schools. She will also discuss bilateral issues with Deputy Foreign Minister of Israel Tzipi Hotovely and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon.

Describing India as “not just a friend but a brother”, Abbas applauded New Delhi’s consistent support for the Palestinian cause. “The visit will further deepen the mutual understanding at the political level and boost bilateral engagement with Palestine, ” the Ministry said.

This is the External Affairs Minister’s first visit to the West Asia region. The centre is part of India’s capacity-building efforts in Palestine.

Prior to that, she paid floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at his bust, which is placed at the Garden of Nations in Ramallah. India, however, maintained that there was no change in its longstanding position on support to the Palestinian cause.

Following this, the minister and her delegation will pay an official visit to Israel on January 17-18. “This in itself reflects the importance Palestine holds for India”. Arafat, the first President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), struggled for Palestinian statehood exerting his powerful influence on the worldwide stage for three decades, before his political confinement in Ramallah in 2001.