India–Arab meet flags Gaza peace plan, regional conflicts and terror as shared concerns

New Delhi: India and Arab League countries on Saturday underscored common priorities ranging from advancing a Gaza peace plan to addressing conflicts in Sudan and Yemen, while stressing joint action to improve security and stability across West Asia.

At the India–Arab foreign ministers’ meeting, only the second since the inaugural edition in 2016, delegates from 19 Arab League members, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait and Qatar, reviewed a rapidly shifting regional landscape marked by conflict and geopolitical churn.

Leaders attending the meeting also called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who described the Arab world as part of India’s "extended neighbourhood”, bound by deep civilisational links and shared goals. "Confident that enhanced cooperation in technology, energy, trade and innovation will unlock new opportunities and take the partnership to new heights,” he said on social media.

External affairs minister S Jaishankar said pushing forward a comprehensive plan to end the Gaza conflict, anchored in United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803, remains a widely shared objective. "Various countries have made policy declarations on the peace plan, individually or collectively,” he said.

Jaishankar noted that changes driven by politics, economics, technology and demography are reshaping the global order, with West Asia seeing especially sharp shifts over the past year. "Nowhere is this more apparent than in West Asia or the Middle East, where the landscape itself has undergone a dramatic change in the last year. This obviously impacts all of us, and India as a proximate region,” he said.

Beyond Gaza, India highlighted other pressing crises. Jaishankar said the conflict in Sudan is "exacting a deadly toll on its society”, while instability in Yemen carries consequences for maritime safety and global shipping lanes.

He also drew attention to Lebanon—where India contributes troops to UNIFIL—and to Libya’s stalled national dialogue. Developments in Syria, he added, remain critical to the region’s broader well-being, making it imperative to reinforce forces of stability, peace and prosperity.

Terrorism was identified as a shared threat facing India and Arab countries. Jaishankar called for uncompromising action. "Cross-border terrorism is particularly unacceptable because it violates the basic principles of international relations and diplomacy,” he said, adding that societies targeted by terrorism have the right to defend themselves and that stronger global cooperation is essential.

India’s partnerships with Arab League members span energy security, trade and people-to-people ties, Jaishankar said, noting the presence of some of India’s largest expatriate communities in the region. West Asia hosts nearly 10 million Indians, largely in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, while Iraq and Saudi Arabia rank among India’s top oil suppliers alongside Russia.

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Looking ahead to 2026–28, the two sides mapped cooperation in traditional areas such as energy, agriculture, tourism and human resource development, as well as emerging sectors including digital technologies, space, startups and innovation. India also signalled interest in deeper counter-terrorism collaboration and parliamentary exchanges, and in sharing its experience in people-centric tech applications.

Ahead of the ministerial meeting, India and Arab partners launched the India–Arab Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture to further expand trade and investment links.