Arab League invites India to attend March 27 Summit

[Justin Joseph]

Arab League invites India to attend March 27 Summit

The League of Arab States, comprising 22 Arab nations, today called for collective and dedicated efforts for strengthening Indo-Arab ties and invited India to attend the upcoming Arab League Summit in Libya on March 27.

In a statement issued on the eve of 65th anniversary on the League, which falls on March 22, the Arab League Mission here said the League member countries were also considering hosting the second Arab-India cultural week in one of the Arab countries.

The first such week was held in Delhi in December 2008.

India has been attending the annual Arab League Summits on a regular basis as a manifestation of strong relations between the country and the Arab world. ''The two sides exert all efforts to consider more options of further developing Arab-India relations in different areas including political, social, cultural and economic fields,'' the statement said. ''There is a need for collective and dedicated efforts for strengthening Indo-Arab ties with further building up relations between India and the Arab world including in the field of Science and Technology, Education, Health, Telecommunication and Energy,'' it added.

http://news.webindia123.com/news/Articles/India/20100320/1468377.html

 

[i am your fear]

so good news

we have to make our relation strong with them

 

[EjazR]

India has Observer status in the Arab League so this was expected. India has been attending Arab league summits since 2007 when it was conferred the Observer status.

Interestingly the only other countries that have Observer status are Venezuelan, Brazil and Eritrea. Also these three countries have significant Arab origin populations.

 

[jha]

what is the logical next step..i mean after this observer status..?

 

[EjazR]

I guess full membership, but till now only arab countries have been part of Arab league.

I would assume Observer status should be good enough for promoting ties. Most of the issues they discuss related to the arab world don't relate to India directly. The areas where we have interests like security, trade, cultural, investments e.t.c. we can discuss.

 

[Justin Joseph]

India has Observer status in the Arab League so this was expected. India has been attending Arab league summits since 2007 when it was conferred the Observer status.

Interestingly the only other countries that have Observer status are Venezuelan, Brazil and Eritrea. Also these three countries have significant Arab origin populations.

What about Pakistan??????????

as per wiki they are not even observer.

They are so closely located, claims to a muslim nation, feel proud of Arabs and

Pak also claims Arab as their friends

 

[Trichy]

What about Pakistan??????????

as per wiki they are not even observer.

They are so closely located, claims to a muslim nation, feel proud of Arabs and

Pak also claims Arab as their friends

who knows

 

[EjazR]

Yes Pakistan afaik is not included in Arab League

I guess Pakistan hasn't requested Observer status yet. They are already part of OIC so I guess the GoP hasn't found the need to be a part of Arab League as well.

 

[su-47]

As a nation with 170m Muslims, we should do more to increase our standing in the Islamic world. Next step is to get OIC status

Well, I think India has done a great job on foreign policy. We have improved relations with almost all nations. Relations with China and Bangladesh are better than before (despite what some members here try to portray) and we are gaining recognition and goodwill in all other parts of the world.

 

[Justin Joseph]

Yes Pakistan afaik is not included in Arab League

I guess Pakistan hasn't requested Observer status yet. They are already part of OIC so I guess the GoP hasn't found the need to be a part of Arab League as well.

There must be some other reason for it. They want to follow us every where, if we get nuke deal they want that etc.

 

[jha]

Yes Pakistan afaik is not included in Arab League

I guess Pakistan hasn't requested Observer status yet. They are already part of OIC so I guess the GoP hasn't found the need to be a part of Arab League as well.

any chance of us being inducted into the group..?? any serious advantage of being a part of the group..?

 

[EjazR]

^^^Its only a symbolic organization at present. The Arab league has infact been more politically active than the OIC. For example the Israeli-Palestinian peace plan aka the Arab peace plan led by Saudi King Abdulla was advocated from the Arab league forum. Also the Arab League meets yearly while OIC meets on average once every 3-4 years.

At present the OIC, although it highlights the Kashmir does not call for UN resolutions and states dialogue between India and Pakistan to resolve the issue. The other problem is there is no representation from India so the member states don't have the full picture in front of them.
Although, it was one of the first to condemn the Mumbai attacks on 27th November itself. Still, without representation of ~15% of the world's Muslim population, the OIC will always be handicapped.

India's request for Observer status is pending with OIC, I don't see why anything else should be done. As long as we don't look at bilateral relationships with other Muslim countries through the prism of Pakistan we don't really have any problems by not being a member of OIC. Case in point is the recent visit of the Indian PM to Saudi Arabia where an unprecedented welcome was giving.

 

[qsaark]

That is all fine and good but, Ejaz Saheb, what is this Arab League? They could never unite on any given issue not even on the occupied Palestinian issue... This pathetic organization or structure or whatever ones want to call it is nothing but bogus. I think, India should spend its money and energy on a forum that is at least 'alive' if not functional.

 

[EjazR]

^^That's true, but I'm just comparing it to OIC. GCC is even more active than the Arab league. They have plans for a common currency and common defense plans as well.

I guess its easier to have a common platform with smaller number of members that are close geographically than a large organisation. After all OIC is the biggest international organisation in terms of number of members after the UN which I guess is an achievement in its self.

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

We are busy with our objectives for energy resources and reduce our dependence on Middle east oil