New Delhi: India will host foreign ministers of the Arab League in the national capital for a ministerial summit at the end of January, as part of New Delhi’s sustained outreach to the region in recent years.
The summit, scheduled for 30 and 31 January, is expected to draw around 20 foreign ministers, including from major countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Jordan and Morocco, sources confirmed to ThePrint Monday.
Syria, which came under a new administration at the end of 2024, may also participate, marking the first ministerial interaction between New Delhi and Damascus since Bashar al-Assad’s ouster. Joint Secretary Suresh Kumar of the West Asia and North Africa division in the Ministry of External Affairs had met Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani in July last year.
The 22-member Arab League is a regional organisation encompassing nations from West Asia and North Africa. Founded in 1945 and headquartered in Cairo, the League—officially known as the League of Arab States—includes Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the UAE and Yemen as members.
India and the Arab League have enjoyed cordial ties that have waxed and waned as regional geopolitics shifted. A large part of India’s trade travels through the Suez Canal, Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea—waterways surrounded by League members. Trade ties crossed $240 billion between India and Arab League members as of 2023, and the League’s members are key sources of fertilisers and oil for New Delhi.
Both sides have established various mechanisms to boost ties, including the India-Arab Partnership Conference and the Arab India Cooperation Forum. The last Partnership Conference was held in New Delhi in July 2023, ahead of the G20 summit under India’s presidency.
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New Delhi has focussed on strengthening ties with the region in recent years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made numerous bilateral visits, most recently travelling to Jordan and Oman in December 2025. Last year, Modi visited Saudi Arabia, and the preceding year, he went to Kuwait, the UAE and Qatar.
India has elevated several bilateral relationships with League members to strategic partnerships too. New Delhi signed free trade agreements (FTAs) with the UAE and Oman, and is negotiating a deal with members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), who are also part of the League.
Since 2010, India has maintained a Permanent Representative to the Arab League as an observer, a position held by India’s ambassador to Egypt. The Arab League states are also home to a large Indian community, with roughly nine million citizens living in the region.
India has deepened its engagement with League members while simultaneously improving ties with Israel. At the end of the Khartoum Summit of the Arab League in 1967, the members famously declared there would be no peace with Israel, no negotiation with the country and no recognition of Tel Aviv. However, ties between Arab League members and Israel have since evolved, with several League members—including Egypt, Jordan, the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco—signing peace accords with Tel Aviv.
Sources said the participation of a delegation from Somalia has not yet been confirmed. Mogadishu has been a supporter of Pakistan in recent years and it had signed a five-year defence cooperation agreement with Islamabad last year, according to reports.
The New Delhi ministerial meeting comes the same year that Beijing is set to host the second China-Arab States Summit. The first summit at the heads of government level between China and the Arab League member-states was hosted in 2022. Beijing has also stepped up its efforts in the region in recent years, including through investments. Beijing maintains an overseas military base in Djibouti as it seeks to project its naval power in the Horn of Africa.
According to sources, multiple topics are expected on the agenda, including the current regional situation in West Asia and the welfare of the Indian community in the region. Discussions are also likely to involve economic ties between India and the League, including energy supplies.
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