Solid Partnerships: India, the Arab World, and Palestine in a Shared Future

Mahima Sikand, Representative of India to the State of Palestine 
A Region in Transition, A Partnership Reaffirmed
In times of uncertainty, the true measure of diplomacy is not found in communiqués or conference halls, but in whether it improves the everyday lives of ordinary people. Institutions that function. Opportunities for youth. Communities that feel secure enough to plan for tomorrow. That is where partnerships prove their worth.

It is in this spirit that the Second India–Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, held on 31 January 2026 in New Delhi, must be understood. Bringing together India and all member states of the League of Arab States after nearly a decade, the gathering was more than a formal diplomatic exercise. It was a reaffirmation of relationships that are civilizational, economic and deeply human.

For centuries, India and the Arab world have been connected through trade routes, scholarship, culture and migration. Today, those bonds are reflected in thriving commerce, energy partnerships, educational exchanges and the presence of millions of people who move between our regions every year.

Yet the conversations in New Delhi were not only about history. They were shaped by the political and security realities of the present moment. West Asia today is experiencing profound strain- continuing conflict, humanitarian distress, economic uncertainty and disruptions to trade and connectivity that affect not just the region but partners far beyond it. In his remarks at the meeting, External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar observed that developments in the region are of direct consequence to India, given our deep people-to-people ties, energy interdependence, trade linkages and shared stakes in maritime and regional stability. In that sense, what happens here does not remain local; it resonates across economies and societies, including India’s own.

It was against this backdrop that the dialogue in New Delhi focused not only on political engagement, but on building resilience for the future, looking at how cooperation can respond to the immediate needs of our societies by creating jobs, strengthening healthcare systems, investing in skills and innovation, securing energy supplies, and expanding opportunity for young people. 

Naturally, within that conversation, Palestine occupied a central place. A significant outcome of the New Delhi meeting was the revival of high-level bilateral contact after a hiatus caused first by the pandemic and then by the profound humanitarian and security challenges in Gaza. The participation of  Palestinian Foreign Minister Dr. Varsen Shahin carried special significance, reaffirming the trust that underpins our cooperation. Her meetings and engagements in Delhi, including with the highest levels of leadership, highlighted the deep mutual respect and solidarity between our two countries and people, and a commitment to build on our history for a better future. This carries special resonance in a year that marks the 30th anniversary of the opening of India’s diplomatic mission in Palestine. 

In his interactions with Arab Ministers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated India’s continued support for the people of Palestine and underlined the importance of ongoing peace efforts, relief and reconstruction. His message was constructive and forward-looking, centered on how cooperation can strengthen institutions and improve daily life. The humanitarian and developmental challenges facing the Palestinian people are not isolated concerns; they are intimately connected to the stability and well-being of the wider region. Progress for Palestine, through relief, recovery, institution-building and renewed economic opportunity, is therefore not only a matter of solidarity, but of shared interest. Because ultimately, peace is sustained not only through negotiations, but through functioning schools, accessible hospitals, stable livelihoods and empowered youth.  Development, in this sense, is itself a form of stability.

Solidarity Rooted in Principle, Sustained in Practice

For India, Palestine has never been a distant question on the margins of foreign policy; it has always been about people, their aspirations and a friendship across generations, a relationship rooted in principle and empathy. India was the first non-Arab country to recognize the State of Palestine and has consistently supported, both before and since, the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people for dignity, self-determination and peace. These positions have remained steady across decades and governments, reflecting not transient politics but a deeply held conviction that the well-being of Palestine is integral to the stability and prosperity of the wider region.

This continuity of support has been expressed not only in multilateral forums, but through consistent presence on the ground, political engagement, development cooperation and people-to-people ties that have steadily grown over time. The  Second India–Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in India gave yet another fillip to this partnership. What made the New Delhi meeting particularly meaningful was that it did not stop at expressions of solidarity. It produced concrete frameworks, notably the Delhi Declaration and the Executive Programme of the India–Arab Cooperation Forum for 2026–2028, that move cooperation from principle to practice.

These frameworks identify priority sectors that matter directly to citizens: digital transformation, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, renewable energy, food security, education, skills development, startups and small enterprises, research collaboration, tourism and cultural exchange. They create structured mechanisms such as working groups, training initiatives, exchanges and business linkages to ensure that cooperation is sustained and measurable rather than episodic. For Palestine, this institutional architecture matters. It creates both an opening and an opportunity.

Because meaningful development partnerships are most effective when they are predictable, continuous and embedded in systems, not dependent on one-off initiatives. The Executive Programme provides precisely such a foundation. It enables Palestinian institutions, universities, entrepreneurs and young professionals to plug directly into a broader regional ecosystem of knowledge, technology and markets.

From Commitment to Cooperation: Building Opportunity Together

In practical terms, this cooperation can take many forms: participation in capacity-building programmes and scholarships in India; collaboration between research centers and universities; linkages between startups and innovation networks; partnerships in affordable healthcare technologies and pharmaceuticals; cooperation in renewable energy deployment; and stronger trade connections that help Palestinian enterprises reach wider markets. These may sound technical on paper. Yet their impact is profoundly human and transformational. 

Palestine does not lack talent. On the contrary, its greatest resource is human capital. Its youth are educated, multilingual, digitally savvy and entrepreneurial. Across Ramallah, Nablus, Hebron, Bethlehem and Gaza, one encounters programmers, designers, engineers and startup founders building solutions with remarkable ingenuity, often with very modest means and under unimaginably challenging circumstances. What is missing is an ecosystem that enables access to networks, mentorship and opportunity. India can be a reliable gateway to such an ecosystem. 

India’s own journey gives it a particular sensitivity to these realities. Much of India’s progress has come from treating technology and knowledge as public goods, building inclusive digital infrastructure, enabling small innovators alongside large institutions, and focusing on solutions that address everyday challenges. Increasingly, this approach extends to artificial intelligence, e-governance and digital service delivery.

For Palestine, with its young and educated population, this creates a natural area of convergence- not to prescribe solutions, but to collaborate; not to lead from afar, but to work alongside; not to replace local capacity, but to strengthen it. This spirit has long characterized India’s engagement with Palestine. Over the years, India’s development cooperation, amounting to well over  USD 100 million,  has supported schools, vocational training centres, technology parks, community infrastructure and capacity-building programmes. Scholarships and exchanges have created a generation of Palestinians with first-hand experience of India. These initiatives rarely make headlines. But they endure.

Looking Ahead: Partnership in Service of People

For Palestine, this engagement with India and the wider Arab world comes at a particularly consequential moment. It offers not only the reassurance of diplomatic attention, but the prospect of deeper and more practical cooperation. It creates space for expanded partnerships in technology, health, education, trade and skills- sectors that directly affect citizens’ everyday realities and future prospects.

Equally important, it signals continuity. Even amid shifting global priorities and regional uncertainties, India’s engagement with Palestine has remained steady, respectful and development-oriented. That consistency has helped build trust over time. And trust, more than any single initiative, is what enables meaningful collaboration. In this sense, Palestine’s presence at the heart of India–Arab dialogue is both symbolic and strategic. Symbolic, because it reflects enduring solidarity and recognition. Strategic, because it anchors future cooperation in concrete outcomes that matter to people on the ground.

The conversations in New Delhi marked not only a diplomatic milestone, but an opportunity to translate goodwill into partnerships, and partnerships into progress. About creating the conditions in which ordinary people can build better futures. If India and Palestine continue to work together in that spirit- linking solidarity with solutions, and friendship with forward-looking cooperation- then the next chapter of our partnership will not only be strategic. It will be transformative.