Foreign ministers and senior officials from Arab nations have begun arriving in New Delhi ahead of the second India–Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (IAFMM), scheduled to be held on January 31, marking the resumption of the high-level dialogue after a decade.
Among the early arrivals in the national capital are Comoros Foreign Minister Mbae Mohamed, State of Palestine Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin, and Sudan’s Foreign Minister Mohieldin Salim Ahmed Ibrahim. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the visit of the delegates is expected to further strengthen bilateral relations and enhance people-to-people ties between India and Arab countries.
India is hosting the second edition of the India–Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting with the objective of consolidating existing cooperation and expanding the scope of engagement with Arab League member states. According to the MEA, the meeting will be co-chaired by India and the United Arab Emirates and will see participation from foreign ministers of Arab League countries as well as the Secretary General of the Arab League.
The MEA noted that the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting is taking place after a gap of ten years, with the first such meeting having been held in Bahrain in 2016. During that inaugural meeting, the participating ministers identified five priority areas for cooperation — economy, energy, education, media and culture — and proposed a range of collaborative activities across these sectors.
India currently holds observer status in the League of Arab States, a pan-Arab organisation comprising 22 member countries. The upcoming meeting in New Delhi will be the first India–Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting to be hosted by India and is expected to witness participation from all 22 Arab nations, represented by foreign ministers, ministers of state and other senior officials, along with representatives of the Arab League.
Ahead of the ministerial-level talks, the fourth India–Arab Senior Officials’ Meeting is scheduled to be held on January 30, 2026. The MEA said the Senior Officials’ Meeting will set the groundwork for discussions at the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and help advance outcomes across agreed areas of cooperation.
The India–Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting is the highest institutional mechanism guiding the partnership between India and the Arab world. The framework for this engagement was formalised in March 2002, when India and the League of Arab States signed a memorandum of understanding to institutionalise dialogue. Subsequently, a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed in December 2008 during the visit of then Arab League Secretary General Amre Moussa, leading to the establishment of the Arab–India Cooperation Forum. This framework was later revised in 2013 to refine its organisational structure.
Earlier, the MEA had stated that foreign ministers and senior officials from at least 20 countries have confirmed their participation in the India–Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and the accompanying Senior Officials’ Meeting in 2026. The gathering is seen as a significant step in reinforcing India’s engagement with the Arab world through structured diplomatic dialogue and multilateral cooperation.
