President Pranab Mukherjee on 15 October 2015 concluded his 3-nation tour to Jordan, Palestine and Israel. During his 6-day visit, which took place from 10 October to 15 October 2015, President Pranab signed various agreement and MoUs with three nations to boost the bilateral ties.
During his visit, he also met the leaders of the three nations namely President and Prime Minister of Israel Reuven Rivlin and Benjamin Netanyahu respectively, His Majesty King Abdullah-II Ibn Al Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, President and Prime Minister of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas and Rami Hamdallah respectively.
During this tour, he stayed in Jordan (10 to 12 October 2015), Palestine (12 to 13 October 2015) and Israel (13 to 15 October 2015). Mukherjee’s visit to these three countries was the first ever visit by an Indian President.
Jordan
Jordan and India signed six agreements and memoranda of understanding (MoU) in various fields of cooperation.
The agreements were signed in the presence of Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour and Indian President Pranab Mukherjee, covering cooperation in the maritime transportation sector and a memorandum between the Jordan Institute of Diplomacy and the Indian Foreign Service Institute.
Another deal was signed between the Jordan News Agency, Petra, and the Press Trust of India, in addition to signing the executive programme for cultural exchange between the Jordanian and Indian governments.
Also, an MoU was signed between the ICT Ministry and its Indian counterpart to cooperate in ICT and electronics fields, and another between the Jordan Standards and Metrology Organisation and its Indian peer to cooperate in assessment techniques.
Ensour and Mukherjee discussed bilateral ties and regional issues of mutual interest, Petra reported.
Ensour said that Jordan encourages establishing joint projects in the fields of manufacturing and marketing pharmaceuticals, renewable energy and ICT, in addition to the garment industry, noting that such ventures are entitled to benefit from Jordan's free trade agreements with the US, Europe and Arab countries.
Mukherjee stressed the importance of moving forward in enhancing bilateral economic and trade ties, calling on Jordanian businesspeople and the private sector to invest in India, which will be spending a trillion dollars on its infrastructure projects.
In a related development, India’s Ambassador to Jordan Anil Trigunayat told The Jordan Times that India has extended a line of credit of $100 million to the Kingdom for promoting trade and economic cooperation.
The ambassador made the remarks on the sidelines of a ceremony held at the University of Jordan to award the Indian president an honorary doctorate.
Also, the Indian president and an accompanying delegation met separately with senators and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Judeh.
According to Petra, the meetings were a continuation of the talks Mukherjee held with His Majesty King Abdullah on Saturday.
Senate President Abdur-Ra’uf S. Rawabdeh, accompanied by several senators, met with the visiting leader and discussed how best to take ties between the chamber and its Indian counterpart to a new level.
In his remarks at the meeting, Rawabdeh outlined progress in Jordan’s reform drive, highlighting amendments made to the Constitution, which led to the establishment of the Constitutional Court and the Independent Elections Commission, as well as several political reform-oriented laws and others concerned with promoting and safeguarding democracy, freedom and respect for human rights.
Mukherjee voiced his country’s interest in strengthening bilateral relations, as agreed during the discussions he held with His Majesty.
The Indian president outlined the democratic experience in India, its constitution, parliamentary government, as well as the council of state, which consists of 245 members, and the 552-strong parliament.
During the meeting, Mukherjee and Judeh discussed the importance of seizing the available opportunities to boost economic cooperation, increasing trade exchange, which currently stands at $1.89 billion and is planned to be upped to $5 billion in five years, in addition to establishing joint projects in various fields.
Judeh and Mukherjee reviewed recent developments in Palestine, with focus on the continuous Israeli provocations. The minister stressed that the solution lies in implementing the two-state solution and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within the June 4, 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Discussions also covered developments in several countries, including Libya, Yemen, Iraq and Syria, with Judeh highlighting the importance of finding political resolutions that preserve the security and stability of these countries.
Mukherjee praised the role Jordan is playing, under the leadership of King Abdullah, in achieving security and stability in region, voicing India’s support for such endeavours.
Palestine
An important road and a roundabout here have been named after India, coinciding with the tour of President Pranab Mukherjee, the first Indian head of state to visit Palestine. The Sharia-e-Al-hind (India road) and Midan-e-Al-hind (India roundabout) in Ramallah were named at a ceremony attended by Mukherjee and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and hundreds of Palestinians.
The new road, which is close to the Mahatma Gandhi Road that houses the Indian mission, was unnamed so far and a Palestinian official said that it was given its name in honour of Mukherjee "whose visit reflects the strong bonding between the two people". "The visit of the Indian President, the highest official to visit Palestine from New Delhi, is a historic moment and the naming and inauguration gives it a sense of history," an official of the Beitunia municipality, Yazan, said. A lotus structure mounted on a raised platform at the roundabout was laid with the Indian national flower in mind, he said. Earlier, Mukherjee laid a wreath on the mausoleum of iconic Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Delegation-level talks were also held between the two sides to review bilateral issues.
Israel
In the first-ever official visit by an Indian head of state to Israel, President Pranab Mukherjee arrived in Jerusalem this week to discuss a wide range of issues including the negotiation of an extensive free-trade agreement, bilateral cooperation in agricultural and other technologies, and expanded counter-terrorism coordination.
“India attaches high importance to its relationship with Israel, a relationship which has taken great strides in the last few years,” said Mukherjee.
Israel President Reuven Rivlin described the visit as deepening “the friendship between our states in the fields of economy, science, medicine and agriculture.”
Relations between India and Israel have recently undergone a major shift. In 1947, India voted against Israel joining the United Nations and did not establish official relations with Israel until 1991. This was mainly out of concern over how this would affect India’s diplomatic relations with Muslim countries, as well as India itself hosting “the world’s second-largest Muslim population in raw numbers,” according to a 2013 report by the Pew Research Center.
Nevertheless, this recent development demonstrates how ties between the two countries have expanded considerably since then. The most recent example of a warming of relations between the countries came when India decided to abstain from the U.N. Human Rights Council vote condemning Israel during the 2014 Gaza conflict. This was a significant policy change, since India for decades was a leading force for nations that automatically voted against Israel in all international forums.
At the same time, the Press Trust of India recently quoted Mukherjee as saying, “India’s traditional support to the Palestinian cause remains steadfast and unwavering while we pursue strong relations with Israel. Our bilateral relations [with Israel] are independent of our relations with Palestine.”
During Mukherjee’s visit, India and Israel signed a double taxation avoidance pact as well as a number of accords promoting cultural and technological exchange between the two nations. Mukherjee and his delegation reserved 70 rooms in Jerusalem’s King David Hotel and another 30 rooms in the nearby Dan Panorama. Celebrity chef Reena Pushkarna was hired by the King David Hotel to prepare Indian dishes for the delegation and some 300 members of Israel’s Indian community.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shares a very warm relationship with Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi, referring to him as his friend multiple times when hosting Mukherjee in Israel’s Knesset. The prime ministers earlier this year congratulated one another on their respective electoral victories, with Modi making a point of doing so in Hebrew and Netanyahu expressing his good wishes in Hindi. Mukherjee extended an invitation to Netanyahu to become the second Israeli prime minister to visit India, the first being former prime minister Ariel Sharon, who visited India in 2003.
Further illustrating the growing ties between the two countries, Israel is India’s second-largest arms supplier after Russia. But relations are not limited to military ties and a mutual commitment to fight terrorism. Vijeta Uniyal, founder of Indian Friends of Israel, described how Israel’s commitment to developing the desert “extends to the Thar Desert, Gangetic Plain and Wetlands of Bengal.”
Bilateral trade between Israel and India grew from $200 million in 1992 to $4.39 billion in 2013, with both countries importing and exporting precious stones, metals, machinery, minerals, plastics, chemical products, textiles, agricultural products, and transport equipment.
Ties between the two countries are expected to strengthen considerably as a result of Mukherjee’s visit, signifying the solidification of a strong alliance between India and Israel.
Major Highlights of the visit
- President invited Israel to participate in the transformation of India and sought Israel’s participation in Digital India programme.
- He was conferred honorary doctorate by Hebrew University in Jerusalem, University of Jordan and Al-Quds University, Palestine.
- The president extended invitation to the countries to invest in India and also sought steps to further deepen the ties.
- The accompanying academic delegation exchanged Memoranda of Understanding in all the three places.
- A road and a roundabout in Ramallah, Palestine named after India as Sharia-e-Al-hind (India road) and Midan-e-Al-hind (India roundabout) were inaugurated.
- President inaugurated a street named after Mahatma Gandhi in Amman, Jordan.
- Six agreements/MoUs signed with Jordan on trade and economic, and investment cooperation
- India gave 5 million US dollars grant to Palestine as Budgetary assistance
- Ten agreements/MoUs including Double Taxation Avoidance & Cultural Exchange signed with Israel
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