Al Akhbar, p.9, (30-11-2008)

In an official visit to India, Moussa will meet the Indian Vice-President today and the Indian President tomorrow

Signing an MoU according to which India will participate in the Arab summits

New Delhi – Masoad Al Henawi

At the start of an official 4-day visit to India, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States Mr. Amr Moussa will meet today Mr. Hamid Ansari, the Indian Vice-President. During the visit, Moussa will hold meetings with Mrs. Pratibha Patil Devisingh, President of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, Minister of External Affairs, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance, in addition to the president of the Parliament and the leader of the Opposition.

Mr. Amr Moussa will also attend the inauguration ceremony of the Arab-Indian Forum and the ceremony of signing the MoU between the League of Arab States and India to establish the Forum. He will hold meetings with the chairmen of the Arab-Indian friendship associations and the chairmen of the associations of the Indian chambers of commerce. He will also visit a number of Indian universities and scientific research centres, as well as the grave of Gandhi.

Moussa will attend the ceremonies of inaugurating the garden of the great Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish and the Arab Cultural Festival in India and participate in a symposium on the Arab-Indian relations.

Diplomatic sources accompanying Moussa in his official visit to India said under the MoU between the League of Arab States and India to establish the Arab-Indian Cooperation Forum, which will be signed by Moussa and the Indian Minister of External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee, India will participate in the Arab summits according to the regulations of the League of Arab States and the two sides will enhance the efforts of the international community to implement dialogue between the north and the south and back the efforts aiming at establishing international peace and security.

The same sources said that the MoU includes 7 major provisions on political and economic cooperation, trade and investments, energy, developing human resources, culture, education and mass media.

The two sides agreed, the sources said, on setting a six-year action plan for the Arab-Indian Forum starting from signing of the MoU. According to the MoU, the two sides assert their commitment to enhancing bilateral political cooperation, establishing a mechanism for bilateral political consultations, organizing an annual conference on the Arab-Indian partnership in one of the Arab countries and in India, and organizing an exhibition for Indian and Arab products.

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