As India prepares to host the 2nd India-Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (IAFMM) after a gap of 10 years, Palestinian Foreign Minister Dr Varsen Aghabekian Shahin on Tuesday said Palestine expects India to play a balanced and constructive role in West Asia, including as a potential mediator between Israel and Palestine.
Speaking at a press conference, Shahin said Palestine recognises India’s strategic interests as well as its close relationships with both Israel and the Arab world. “We truly understand that India is a great country and looks strategically towards its interests, while remaining a friend of both Palestine and Israel,” she said, adding that Palestine hopes India will continue to engage the region through a “balanced approach”.
She said this balance gives India credibility at a time when the peace process remains stalled. “We truly believe that India can play a major role as a mediator between Israel and Palestine, towards the end of the conflict and the end of occupation,” Shahin said, referring to India’s consistent support for international law and UN-backed frameworks, including the two-state solution and the New York Declaration.
The Palestinian minister also acknowledged India’s long-standing development assistance to Palestine, particularly in education, healthcare and social infrastructure. She said India-supported schools in the West Bank continue to function despite widespread destruction of educational institutions in Gaza over the past two years. India has also funded multipurpose community buildings, sports and recreation centres for children, hospitals and specialised medical facilities.
“At a time when Palestinian children are deprived of almost everything, these spaces allow them a sense of normalcy,” Shahin said, describing India as being “at the forefront” of such support. She also highlighted India’s assistance in establishing infrastructure for Palestine’s Diplomatic Institute, which is in its final stages and is expected to train Palestinian diplomats and support future exchanges.
Shahin called her trip to India her first and expressed her hope that it would not be her last. She also said that the Palestinian leadership held India in “high regard”. She conveyed greetings from President Mahmoud Abbas and recalled that India’s support for Palestine dates back to the pre-independence era. “Our relationship goes back to the 1930s. India stood with the Palestinians in 1947, and Mahatma Gandhi opposed the partition of Palestine,” she said, adding that India has consistently supported Palestinian self-determination, including at the UN Human Rights Council.
On the situation in Gaza and the West Bank, Shahin said the Palestinian struggle did not begin in 1967 but more than a century ago, referring to the Balfour Declaration. She said more than 80 per cent of Gaza’s infrastructure has been destroyed and questioned whether international law is being applied equally. “International law must be relevant and applied regardless of religion, colour or politics,” she said.
She also alleged an increase in violence in the West Bank by illegal Israeli settlers, saying they have been emboldened by political backing. “An occupier state is legalising criminality,” Shahin said.
India will host the 2nd India-Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on 31 January 2026 in New Delhi, co-chaired by India and the United Arab Emirates. The meeting will bring together foreign ministers and senior officials from all 22 Arab League member states, along with the League’s Secretary-General.
The first such meeting was held in Bahrain in 2016, where India and Arab states identified cooperation in five priority areas: economy, energy, education, media and culture. The Ministry of External Affairs has said the IAFMM is aimed at further strengthening a partnership formalised in 2002, under which India participates as an observer to the Arab League.
